Mission Parameters
by SailorChibi
Summary: A mission on L2 leaves Heero wondering about Duo. Now the Perfect Soldier is determined to get behind Shinigami's mask. But it turns out there's more to Duo and all of them than he ever imagined… because there's more than one God wandering the Earth. 1x2
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Mission Parameters  
**Pairings:** 1x2, 3x4, 5x6, one-sided 1R and 2H  
**Summary:** A mission on L2 leaves Heero wondering about and watching Duo. Now the Perfect Soldier is determined to get behind Shinigami's mask… no matter what it takes. But it turns out there's more to Duo and all of them than he ever imagined… because there's more than one God wandering the Earth.  
**A/N:** I always kept myself away from GW because I _knew_ this would happen. Damn but those boys are utterly addicting. I had to try writing a fic of my own. This is my first attempt at a GW fic, so I hope it's not too horrible.

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It was supposed to be a routine mission. Go in, get the data, and get out. Routine is all that it would have been had it not been for the way Duo changed when we got to L2. Normally, that braided baka can talk your ear off. It's a miracle when I have any silence. I might have pretended to ignore him, but if there was one thing I knew about Duo, it's that something's wrong when he _doesn't_ talk.

Out of all of us, he was probably the best at it. He could smile and joke around even when it nearly killed him to do it. But it wasn't until that mission that I realized how deeply that ran. Not even Duo could keep up the mask when he returned to L2. His perpetually cheerful violet eyes lost their shrine, and the smile tightened and became visibly forced. I acted like I didn't notice, because I knew that's what he wanted me to do. But that was a lie, because I did. It was fine, though. Unlike him, I could lie.

The time we were there? Two days. Yet it changed everything. I'll never forget walking down the street on a scouting mission and seeing the scores of children around that were homeless and starving. I'd seen it before, but my mind never connected it to Duo until I watched him stop and give practically everything he had to a little boy with blonde hair and two different color eyes, one green and one blue. He would've given the boy the shirt off of his back if I hadn't grabbed him and made him keep walking.

"We have a mission to perform," I reminded him.

"I know." There was a weird look on his face, a strange shimmer in his eyes. When I realized what it was, I tripped and nearly fell flat on my face. In all the time I'd known him, I'd never seen Duo as close to tears as I did that day. Believe me when I say that it changed everything between us.

We did our mission, got the data, and left without looking back. I didn't hear a single word except for what was absolutely necessary until we were leaving. The further we go, the better he seemed to feel. By the time we were back on Earth, he was back to the full-on mask, like nothing had ever changed. Yet, something had. I was curious. I didn't know a lot about Duo's past. It wasn't the kind of thing we went out of our way to share. But I wanted to know why he hid. How he could live behind a mask all the time. How he didn't get tired. How he could hide from _everyone_ and _never get tired_.

I decided to make it a personal mission to get behind that mask.

You might think that's a pretty out of character decision for someone like me. Wasn't I supposed to hate him? I did at first. For a long time, I would have liked nothing more than to snap Duo Maxwell's fragile neck. Eventually, in spite of the fact that he'd shot me when we first met, we became partners, and he started weaseling his way in under my shields. Believe me; I tried to keep him out.

It started with his incessant chattering. Whenever he went quiet, I would find myself noticing and watching him, waiting on edge for him to start up again. The silence started to get on my nerves because I was so jumpy. Before I knew it, I actually started to like it when he'd drape an arm around my shoulders or clap me on the back. Me! I'd always known I wasn't perfect, but I had truly thought that J had driven most of those kinds of emotions out of me. Apparently I was wrong.

My first opportunity came after the five of us had been sent on a mission that… well, we didn't fail, but it didn't go well. The presence of our Gundams would have helped, but it had been a stealth mission. With soldiers right behind us, we ended up fleeing in the most easily procured getaway car. Unfortunately, it seemed like the soldiers were smarter than normal, and the brewing snowstorm wasn't helping our cause. They tracked us for long after we would have normally managed to dodge them. Wufei, who was driving, finally got rid of them, but by that point, it was dark and there was a full scale blizzard in progress. Not even _I _would have dared to drive in that.

After driving for what felt like hours, we came across a small cabin that appeared to be empty. Though we didn't know who owned it, "beggars couldn't be choosers", as Duo put it. We piled out of the car and inside. Trowa managed to start a small fire with the wood available, but it didn't offer much warmth. He and Quatre huddled underneath one of the available blankets, while Duo, Wufei, and I sat by ourselves. Wufei started to meditate immediately. He, Trowa, and I weren't that bad off, but Quatre and Duo weren't used to the cold. Duo, of course, came from L2, where one good cold snap would've killed off half the colony, and Quatre was from L4, which maintained a moderate climate the whole year round.

Not that the three of us were any more used to the cold, but both Quatre and Duo were smaller and more physically slender than we were. Wufei and I weren't as tall as Trowa, but we had a good few inches on those two, and more bulk. I could see from where I sat that Duo was shivering hard, and even more alarming, he wasn't complaining about the cold like he had been before. Remember when I said that when Duo stopped talking, it meant something was wrong? That kept going through my head at full volume.

"Do you think they've given up?" Quatre asked suddenly. I looked over at him, distracted from my thoughts about Duo. He looked much better now that he was curled up beside Trowa.

"Hard to say," I answered in my usual monotone. "The storm has probably stopped their search for at least a little while. Hopefully they'll think that we've died from exposure."

I noticed that Wufei shifted a little at my comment, but he said nothing and kept trying to meditate as a way to deal with the cold. I cast a measuring glance at Quatre and Trowa and saw that both of them had their eyes closed, though I doubted they were sleeping. I seized my chance and scooted across the still-cold floor until I was beside Duo. That close, I could see that he was indeed shivering, and his eyes were shut. Bad sign.

"Maxwell," I said softly.

No response.

"Maxwell," I repeated, a bit louder. Still nothing. "Duo?"

When even_ that_ didn't get an answer, I did what I always accused Duo of doing. I acted impulsively. Reaching out, I threw an arm around his shoulders and dragged him closer. The iciness of his skin made me gasp. It was like pulling a slab of snow next to me. I had only intended to tuck him in next to me, but somehow he ended up in my lap, between my crossed legs. It was obvious that he was really out of it, because he didn't even say anything. His body curled instinctively towards my warmth, and he buried his face in the crook of my neck and shoulder while I shifted the blankets to better cover the both of us.

Looking up, I saw that a single green eye was staring at me. Trowa blinked at me before glancing away. I ignored them all as I focused on rubbing the frigid, almost stiff, skin on Duo's arms and legs to warm him up. Eventually, he murmured something I didn't quite catch and cuddled even closer to me. The movements made something in my chest do a weird sort of flip and squeeze. It was alarming and my hands stopped their busy work instantly, but I didn't want to analyze it. I didn't need the extra complication it would cause.

Throughout the night, I dozed on and off, never fully sleeping. Duo remained warm and compliant in my arms until sometime at around six in the morning. Wufei and Trowa had gone out to check on the car and Quatre was curled up in a little ball when he stirred. I felt the pattern of his breath change against my neck as he became more aware. Then he went stiff and lifted his head slowly.

"Heero?" he said doubtfully.

"Ah."

"What… How did…" He trailed off and his cheeks turned pink. I didn't bother hiding my smirk, knowing that he wanted to ask how he'd gotten here, but was too nervous.

"You were cold," I stated simply.

His large violet eyes blinked heavily. "Okay…"

I took a closer look at him when he didn't immediately jump up or push me away. There was an odd haziness to his eyes, and he looked around the room like he didn't really recognize where we were or how we'd come to be there. His face was pale behind his flushed cheeks. I shifted slightly and edged the blankets down. The heat had quickly become sweltering to me, but I was beginning to suspect that it wasn't just from our normal body heat. My suspicion was confirmed when I put a hand on his forehead. At the feel of the unnatural heat, I swore under my breath.

"What's wrong?" Duo asked, looking surprisingly comfortable with the fact that my hand was on his forehead.

"You're sick."

His body, which had relaxed, tensed again. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!" He started to pull away, then, but I stopped him with an arm around his waist. Duo's not as strong as me on a good day, so he had no chance when he was sick. "Let go, Heero, damn it. We've got to get up and get going."

"Shh. You'll wake Quatre."

That stilled him, and his head swung around automatically to make sure he hadn't done just that. "Is he alright?"

"He's sick, like you," I answered. I didn't know that for sure, but judging from how tender Trowa had been that morning, I figured I was right.

"I'm not sick!" he hissed. I raised an eyebrow. I could tell that he was having a hard time staying awake long enough to yell at me. When I didn't say anything and still refused to let go, he huffed under his breath and twisted away to glare in the direction of the door. I waited patiently, and sure enough, his head slowly fell forward onto his chest. He woke up a couple of times and made a valiant effort at staying awake, but eventually, he succumbed. I shook my head and pulled him back to how he'd been before, gently stroking my hand down his braid. What a baka.

Trowa pushed the door open, letting in a blast of cold air. "Ready?"

I nodded. It took a bit of work to squirm out of the blankets, but after a minute, I was standing and had the blankets wrapped back up around him. After pulling on my coat, I leaned down and scooped him up easily. He was light in my arms, though I knew after a while, he would become heavy. Trowa fetched Quatre and we headed back out into the snow.

The world had changed. Now that we could actually see, I realized we were way off track. There was no sign of the town we'd been seeking. Trees and snow were all I could see. It was freezing cold, as the temperature had plummeted overnight, and we both hurried over to the car. Wufei was in the driver's seat again. I recognized the thin line of determination between his eyes and didn't even bother asking if he would have preferred that I drive. I already knew that the answer would be a resounding no.

I got in the front seat with Duo on my lap. Trowa climbed into the back with Quatre. Wufei cast me a questioning glance, clearly wondering why I was cradling Duo so protectively, but didn't ask. He started the car and managed to get it out of the drift where it had settled. We drove for hours without stopping or seeing anything that resembled civilization. I had the feeling that we were going around in circles, but there were no landmarks available to tell us whether that was true. We passed a few farmhouses, but none of us felt comfortable stopping. You never knew where you could run into trouble.

Eventually, though, it became obvious we didn't have a choice. Sooner or later we'd run out of fuel. Already the gauge was dangerously close to empty. Wufei stopped in front of an older farmhouse and looked at me. I shrugged and nodded, knowing that we'd run out of options. It would have been better if Quatre could have gone - he possessed a natural charm that no one could escape. Better still would have been if Duo had been able to go with him. The two of them together possessed a set of puppy eyes that not even I could say no to. But neither of them was in any shape, so it was up to us three, and I was apparently elected to remain behind with the two of them when Wufei and Trowa got out without bothering to ask.

Quatre stirred at the blast of cold air. His head popped out of the cocoon of blankets like a turtle emerging from its shell. "Heero?" he said blearily, looking at me blankly. "What's going on?"

"We're lost. Wufei and Trowa stopped to ask for directions," I answered, deliberately making my voice a touch softer than the usual monotone I strove to speak in. Now that Quatre was looking at me, I could see that my earlier guess had been on track. His face was pale and flushed, and he had the same dazed expression that Duo did. "Go back to sleep."

"I'm not tired," he muttered, rubbing one of his eyes. "I have a headache."

I had no answer for that. We didn't have any medical supplies and we would have to continue like that until we found a safe house or some form of civilization where we could pick up medication. My hands tightened around Duo at the reminder. None of us pilots responded well to drugs, but I would have been willing to force a fever reducer down Duo's throat if I had to.

"Is Duo sick?" he asked meekly.

"Ah."

"Bad?" Quatre shuffled and pushed his head forward, peering between the seats at the two of us. If he was surprised by the way I held Duo, he didn't mention it.

"He'll be fine," I said firmly. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Wufei returning to the car carrying a red plastic can. He stomped around to the opposite side and began fiddling with the gas tank. Moments later, Trowa and an older man I didn't recognize joined him. The three of them got the car gassed up and then the man said something to them. Wufei responded by shaking his head. I could feel myself tensing a little as a woman came out and joined the three. She was holding a basket, which she practically shoved into Trowa's arms. He took it because he couldn't figure out how to say no and said something in return. The woman smiled, winked, and took the hand of the older man. Once they had returned to the house, Wufei and Trowa got back in.

"What did they say?" I asked.

Wufei shivered. "They didn't speak English or any other language we recognized," he said flatly, sounding frustrated. "We have a map and gas but no directions."

"Maybe one of us can read it," Quatre suggested.

Trowa opened the basket. The smell of chicken soup wafted through the car, and several stomachs growled in response, even mine. It had been several hours since we'd last eaten. He bypassed the soup, however, and picked up the map, spreading it open. All four of us bent over it in silence. I was frustrated to find that I couldn't read it, either, and judging by the look of annoyed on Quatre's face, neither could he. Between the four of us we were fluent in nearly twenty languages, so to be defeated by something so stupid was massively irritating. I've never wished for my laptop more.

"Did they happen to mention where we are on the map?" Quatre asked at last, taking the map from Trowa and rotating it.

"What part of lost in translation did you miss?" Wufei asked peevishly.

Quatre huffed but, for the purposes of maintaining the peace, he let the comment slide. His brow furrowed as he peered down at the map, and I could practically see that analytical mind going to work, searching for an answer. He was the strategist of our group, and it had to be killing him that he couldn't think of a way out of our predicament. I sighed to myself and shifted. The movement, unfortunately, woke Duo.

"Wasgoinon?" he mumbled, sounding pretty out of it.

"We're lost," I repeated.

"We have a map, we just can't figure it out," said Quatre.

"We're lost," Trowa muttered. Quatre glared at him.

Duo straightened up and leaned forward. I brought a hand up against his back to keep him from toppling over as he peered down at the map. His eyes ran over the map in silence, and I had to wonder whether he was even registering what he was looking at. Finally, though, his hand snapped out and he pointed straight at a specific spot on the map in the middle of no where.

"We're right here," he announced triumphantly. "Go that way."

"How do you know? Can you read it?" Wufei sounded tense, and I knew he'd be pissed if Duo could read something that he couldn't.

"Nope," Duo said, shaking his head. Then he stopped and one of his hands flew to his head, like the motion hurt too much.

"You know," Trowa stated thoughtfully, "That guy did point to somewhere around there."

The four of us exchanged looks. Duo fell back against me, still cradling his head, and I absently readjusted him on my lap. Finally, Quatre said, "We've got nothing to lose. If Duo's right, we're only a couple of hours from the nearest city. I say we go for it."

"Following directions from Maxwell," Wufei mumbled, but he obligingly started the car up and began driving with Quatre and occasionally Trowa offering directions.

I looked down at Duo, who was looking out the window with half-lidded eyes. "How did you know?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. So I was surprised when he turned his gaze towards me.

"Didn't you know, Heero?" he asked sleepily, his eyes finally fluttering closed. "Gods never get lost. We always know where we are."

I didn't think it was possible, but that comment made my curiosity about Duo Maxwell burn even brighter, especially after the road really did end up bringing us to a small town. Had I known what my curiosity would bring, I might have walked away then and there.

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Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. They were what made me decide to put another chapter out there. I decided to switch to Duo's POV for this chapter, and I'm hoping that he's not _too_OOC. Enjoy.

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I wasn't sick.

No, really.

Heero was simply mistaken. Not even the Perfect Soldier can be right all the time, you know. Really, I was the epitome of health if you were willing to ignore the mild fever, dizziness, and the fact that the mere smell of food maybe me feel like puking my guts out. What's that? Hey, denial is _not _lying. As long as I didn't accept that I was sick (because I wasn't), I couldn't really _be_ sick. See how that works?

But Heero, that bastard, wasn't willing to go along with it. It figured that the one time he decided to play nice was the one time I wished he'd treat me the way he always did. Not that it wasn't wonderful sleeping in his arms - believe me, it was - but it made me feel things I wasn't supposed to be feeling. It was an issue, let me tell you, especially because the bastard was stronger than I was. And also, as it turned out, it's pretty hard to tussle with someone when every movement makes the world spin like you're drunk, except there hasn't been hours of alcohol consumption and there's no quick fix.

I have a sort of memory of him picking me up and saying, "Why do you hate the thought of being sick? It's natural. Baka."

Truth be told - because I always do - I wasn't used to being sick. Definitely wasn't used to admitting it. Solo had taught me and the gang a lot of things and that had been one of the most important rules. Do Not Be Vulnerable. Acting like prey gets you _treated _like prey. On a colony like L2, that was a rule to live by, along with Do Not Stand Out (impossible for Solo and I) and Do Whatever It Takes To Survive (short of selling yourself, because there were some things that Solo put his foot down on).

Do Not Stand Out was one of the reasons I ended up with Solo in the first place. He had blond hair, which was not so unusual, but he also had two differently colored eyes. One green, one blue. That not only made people remember him, it made him a target for the sick perverts who were after a boy or girl that looked a little more exotic. So when he came across me in an alley when I was roughly four years old and saw my eyes, he picked me up and kept me with him for two reasons. One, because he knew the kind of life that was waiting for me, and two, because he knew I would help keep the attention off of him. That may sound selfish, but this was L2, where no one does anything for free.

I'd never seen anyone else with two differently colored eyes until I saw that boy on L2 when Heero and I were on a mission. It was like meeting a younger version of Solo all over again. I gave him everything I had. I couldn't help myself. Call it temporary insanity, but I hadn't been able to save Solo the first time around, and I felt a compulsion to help that kid in any way that I could. The only thing I regret is that it made Heero watch me even more closely than before. I was very conscious of his eyes on me during the rest of the mission and even now, I know he watches me more than he should, and although I was a spectacular actor, I was worried that I might give eventually something away without meaning to.

That was another one of the reasons that I didn't want to admit I was sick. It meant Heero would hover more (he could be something of a mother hen, believe it or not, though no one could beat Quatre) and even though I craved the attention, I was also frightened of it, which is why I tried to act normally no matter how hard it got. Do Whatever It Takes To Survive and all that. I was used to that. Life on L2 had taught me that you did what you had to do, no matter what you wanted.

For example, although I would never tell the others, particularly Wufei, I had lived as a girl before. There are a_ lot_ of people out there who are more willing to give food or money to a little girl as opposed to a boy. I'd always been fairly androgynous, and as a child, it was even easier to make people believe I was a girl. And as it turned out, the perverts don't really care so much what sex you are, so being a boy wasn't always safer. Actually, there are some pervs who go for that. Not that you could explain something like that to Wufei. He was so obsessed with thinking that girls were the weaker sex. Obviously he'd never been on the receiving end of a pissed girl wearing a set of high heels.

Something cold touched my forehead, pulling me out of my dazed thoughts. I opened eyes I had no memory of closing and found myself looking up at Heero. He was leaning over me, searching my face intently. When he saw I was awake, he pushed two pills into my mouth and held a glass to my lips before I could protest. Cold water washed the pills down my throat and went a long way towards soothing the dry ache that kept threatening to make me cough.

"Feeling better?" he asked, setting the glass down.

"No," I muttered grudgingly. I didn't lie, and there was only so long that you could deny something before it crossed the line. My head was spinning even though I was lying still. It had been so long since I'd last gotten sick that I had forgotten how utterly miserable it was. I clenched my fingers into the soft sheets that I was lying on, belatedly realizing that I was in a bed. "Where are we?"

"Deer Lake," said Heero, sitting down on a chair that had been pulled up to the bed. "You guided us here when we were lost. Don't you remember?"

Shit. "No…" I repeated slowly, not needing to work at looking confused. Good thing it was true. Heero knew I didn't lie. The past few hours - hell, the last day - really was a blur to me. I remembered waking up that morning and being in Heero's lap, but even that memory is vague and disjointed, like it happened weeks ago instead of hours ago.

"None of us could read the map. But you knew exactly where we were." His deep blue eyes watched me so closely I squirmed. "You said that Gods always know where they are."

Fuck! Another reason to loathe being sick. Apparently I couldn't control my damn mouth. "I don't remember that," I said honestly, working a hand free of the covers to touch my forehead. The cold sensation was revealed to be a cloth that had been dipped in water. It felt good on my head, but I was still hot. I lacked the strength to push the covers away and it annoyed me.

"What did you mean?"

"What?"

"What did you mean?" he repeated patiently.

I squinted. "What did I mean about what?" It was getting kind of hard to think. I knew we'd been talking about something important, something that I had to be careful with, but the harder I tried to remember, the more the words slipped away from me. I felt my eyes slip closed and quickly forced them open, knowing that I had to stay awake. Heero rested his elbows on his knees and shook his head.

"Go to sleep, baka. You're fading out on me," he said. It must have been my imagination that was telling me there was a hint of affection in the normally stoic voice.

"'Kay." I let my eyes close that time. I didn't remember falling asleep, but I must have, because when I opened my eyes again, the light spilling into the room had changed position and grown a lot fainter. Heero was gone, and instead, Wufei was sitting beside me, apparently meditating.

"'Fei?" I mumbled.

"It's _Wu_fei, Maxwell," he said, opening his eyes. "How are you? Can you eat something?"

Could I eat? My stomach seemed to have settled a little, possibly from whatever Heero had drugged me with. I hated turning down food. "I'll try."

He reached out and picked up a mug that had been sitting on the nightstand. I struggled up, propping myself on my elbows. I hated how weak I felt. My muscles felt like mush. I reached out to take the mug from Wufei and felt my throat tighten when I got a whiff of what was in the cup. It was a hot chicken soup of some kind. The smell was divine, but my stomach didn't appreciate it. Without warning, I threw up all over myself, the mug, and Wufei, who was just close enough to be in range.

"Fuck! Maxwell!" Wufei dropped the mug as he jerked backwards, looking disgusted. There was vomit dribbling down his white shirt and onto his pants. "You little - YUY!" I fell back against the bed and groaned with pain as the door flew open and Heero came in. "Look at this!"

"What did you expect, Chang? He's sick," I heard Heero say. Footsteps approached the bed. A cool hand touched my forehead and gently smoothed back my bangs. I couldn't stop myself from turning into the touch just a little. "He's running a temperature of 103 degrees. Look, why don't you go get cleaned up in the other bathroom. I'll take care of Duo."

Wufei stormed out of the room grumbling under his breath. Heero sighed and then there were impossibly gentle arms picking me up. I remained lax, only half feigning unconsciousness as Heero carried me into the bathroom and stripped my soiled clothing away. He wet a cloth and started running it over my skin, cleaning away sweat and vomit. I shivered at the feeling and couldn't help trying to pull away.

"Duo, stop it," Heero ordered, pressing the cloth to my cheek. "We can't afford to take you to the hospital and we have to get your fever down somehow. Hold still."

Some distant memory washed over me of Sister Helen telling me the exact same thing when I was a child. The orphanage couldn't afford to pay hospital fees. It was the last time that I'd gotten truly sick, and she had been so frightened even though I had sluggishly reassured her that no one could kill the God of Death. She hadn't taken much reassurance from my feverish ranting. At least now I understood why. I could easily die. Like this, I - we - were just as mortal as everyone else.

"Tell 'Fei 'm sorry," I mumbled.

Heero paused for only a second or two. "He already knows." He kept running the cloth over every inch of my body until I was shivering pretty much non-stop.

"How is he, Heero?"

I jumped and probably would've slipped off of the toilet had Heero not braced me with his arm. I really _was_ slipping if I hadn't even heard Trowa come in. I squinted up at him through blurry eyes, noticing that he looked kind of tired. So did Heero, now that I thought about it. Guilt and frustration washed over me. Out of all the times to get sick, why _now_? Everyone was already tired from the war efforts and dumping this on their shoulders just seemed cruel.

"Still sick. 103 degrees," Heero said, picking me up again. "Could you hold him, Barton? I need to change the bed."

Trowa took me silently. It was humiliating to be carried and passed around like an invalid, but I doubted my legs would have held me. My whole body felt weak and I was so damned tired it was hard to stay awake. He brought me back into the room as Heero began stripping the bed and re-making it. I fought the urge to put my head against Trowa's shoulder and distracted myself by looking around. We were in a hotel, I realized, and a fairly pricey one, judging by the quality of the decorations on the walls.

"How's Winner?" Heero asked finally.

"Doing a little better. 100 degrees," Trowa answered.

Quat? Quatre was sick? I had a vague memory of hearing Heero say as much, though like everything else from the past day or so, it was disjointed at best. No wonder Trowa looked tired, though. It was no secret that he and Quatre were lovers, and he must have been freaking out, though he'd never show it. I searched for a way to comfort him and finally threw my arm around his neck so that I could tug on his shirt. His visible emerald eye looked down at me with vague amusement.

"Don't worry," I said. It was hard to talk. My tongue didn't want to cooperate. I had to form the words carefully. "Quat will be fine. Gods can't die, you know? Not _really_. We're im… im… we live forever."

His eye widened slightly. Heero stopped pulling the sheet over the bed to look at us. I smiled, satisfied that I'd done my job to make him feel better, and closed my eyes. I thought that my head might have fallen against his shoulder after all, but it helped to stabilize the world, so I didn't mind that much.

"Duo? What do you mean?" Trowa said, shaking me a little. "Duo?"

"Stop. I think I'm going to be sick," I moaned. The jostling was making my stomach churn all over again. Heero rushed over to us, grabbed me, and in no time I found myself bent over in front of the toilet, just in time for what little else there was in my stomach to come up. By that point, it was mostly liquid and bile and my throat burned with pain by the time I was done spitting and choking.

"Here." Heero held a glass of water to my lips so that I could rinse and spit. Then he pressed two more pills into my mouth and made me swallow them. I was so dizzy that if it had been up to me, I probably wouldn't have moved from where I was kneeling. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I was getting pretty tired of Heero scooping me up and carrying me around at will, but I didn't have the energy to protest. He put me down on the bed, which admittedly did feel nice and cool under my aching muscles, and dampened another cloth to put on my forehead. Then he and Trowa bent over me, one on each side. If I hadn't felt so miserable, it would have been pretty intimidating.

"Duo, what do you mean by saying that Gods never get lost?" Heero asked me. His blue eyes were burning a hole in my soul. I couldn't have turned away if I wanted to. "And by saying that Winner couldn't die because Gods can't?"

"You already know," I muttered thickly. Whatever Heero had given me was making me sleepy. Normally I didn't respond well to drugs, but knowing Heero, he'd found one of the few that would agree with me and make me do whatever he wanted. Like he needed a drug for that. "You just can't 'member."

I'm pretty sure that he said something else, but I crashed before my mind could register anything else. Unfortunately, it seemed that my nightmares followed me into sleep even when I was ill. On the whole, I don't remember a lot about the next few days. I have vague impressions of being held, of people speaking to me, of alternating between being freezing cold and so hot I wanted to melt to make it stop, in between nightmares about L2. Quatre later told me that I threw everything up, including medicine, and that for a while he and the others were truly worried about me. I could believe that Quat was concerned, but the others? Yeah, right. Though Heero had been acting suspiciously kind to me, I was certain that it was because he wanted Deathscythe's pilot up and running as soon as possible, not because of _me_.

But it didn't matter, because I didn't remember any of it. Maybe if I had, I would've made more of an effort to stop Shinigami from kicking in. I wasn't like the others. The God of Death could never _truly _be repressed, especially not during the middle of a war. It lingered below the surface. When he felt me slipping, the fever began to burn from my body - literally. I woke up exactly twenty-fours later, feeling shaken and weak but refreshed, and got the shock of my life when Heero Yuy, the Perfect Soldier himself, grabbed me and hugged me.

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Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Yay reviews. I'm always so happy to get them, especially when I'm writing in a brand new fandom. I decided to switch back to Heero for this chapter and I may continue doing that. We'll see how the story goes. Enjoy!

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After plenty of rest, proper good, and time to sleep, Quatre got better. Duo didn't. He got worse no matter what we did. Trowa put it down to a childhood spent on L2, where a lack of proper vitamins and nutrition during the most important years had probably wrecked havoc on his immune system. I didn't care what it was. I just knew that I wanted Duo to get better, and he wasn't. I had been on missions without him, and the silence always got to me before too much time had passed. Sitting beside his bed, I tried to imagine a lifetime of silence. It would... It would be... Well, it would definitely impede my ability to work. For that alone, Duo _had _to get better.

Ironically enough, even though I was dreading a lifetime of silence if the unthinkable happened, I would have given a lot to have been sitting at his bedside in complete silence. Listening to his voice cry out endlessly was not enjoyable. Father Maxwell, Sister Helen, Solo… He repeated those names constantly amidst a stream of apologies and pleading that would have broken anyone. I figured they were people from his past, people that he felt he had failed in some way. It was bad enough listening to him cry out to them, but worse yet was hearing _my_ name and that of the other pilots.

The first time he cried out for me, I tried to let him know I was there. Not even I could sit by and listen to that without speaking to him. But he couldn't hear me. My words failed to permeate the feverish haze he was lost in. He remained trapped in a world where Oz had won, from the sound of it, and the rest of us were dead. It was agonizing to hear him apologize for and cry over our deaths. Only when he had screamed himself hoarse did he finally fall silent, though whimpers and the occasional moan of pain continued to slip from his cracked, dry lips.

I didn't know what to do for him. It was one of the few times in my life that my training was of no help. He threw up everything we managed to get into him, including water and medicine. There was no way for us to get him to the hospital; the doctors had alerted us to the fact that several Oz soldiers were in the area, and warned us not to leave the hotel where we staying for anything. I would've disregarded their instructions entirely, but I wasn't sure Duo would survive the trip to the hospital, much less a battle if we were caught on the way there.

On the third day, his temperature began to rise to dangerous levels and he became badly dehydrated. Quatre could no longer bear to be in the same room because he knew Duo was dying, and it upset him to the point where he became hysterical. Trowa spent most of his time trying to comfort Quatre. Wufei distanced himself from all of us. That left me to sit beside his bed and take his hand. It was smaller than mine, but I could feel the strength behind the deceptively fragile digits. Not that it mattered: even his hand was hot to the touch. I looked down at his face. He'd fallen into a more restful sleep only because he was so exhausted that his body couldn't help it. I hadn't seen his eyes for days, and suddenly, I wished that he would open them.

To my surprise, he did.

"Duo?" I leapt to my feet, hope surging wildly inside of me. His lips moved, but only a dry, harsh cough escaped. I picked up a glass of lukewarm water and held it to his mouth, helping him to take slow, careful sips. I wanted to call for the others, but his hand on my arm stopped me. When I glanced up at him again, I knew why.

Duo's eyes are actually violet, though in certain lights they can look pale blue, and they almost always glow with mischief, even when he's innocent. It's a very beautiful color, actually, and rare. I've yet to see another person with eyes quite like his. The eyes staring back at me were vacant, dark purple discs, looking almost black in the dim light. And the strength in his hand, which was gripping my wrist hard enough to bruise, was more than I would have suspected someone who had been so ill would be capable of. It hit me for the first time, then, that I was dealing with someone who was… _not_ Duo.

"Who are you?" The question slipped out before I could stop myself. My free hand moved instinctively to my gun, though I'm not sure what that would have accomplished. Would I have shot Duo if he turned out to be… what, crazy? Possessed?

"You don't recognize me, my love?" It was Duo's voice, but there was a harsher, rougher undercurrent that I'd never heard before. And _my love_? Was he delusional? I just stared at him and he smiled. "Oh, I see. You still don't remember anything. What a pity. Such fun we could have…" He trailed off and his grip grew gentler as his hand travelled further up my arm, the tip of his fingers just barely ghosting over my skin. I shivered and his grin grew wider, pleased by my reaction.

"Duo, what's wrong with you?" I said. I wanted to pull away, but I stood my ground.

"This mortal body is dying, for one thing." 'Duo' gestured lazily to himself. "I could go on now, if I wanted to. Would you like me to watch over you from above? Or below, I suppose, as the case may be. You'd be able to experience life as a real human. Well, not entirely _normal_, but you know, we have to take what we can get…"

His questions were making my head hurt. My legs bent and I fell into the chair behind me, never taking my eyes off of him. "I don't understand."

"Do you want me to die?" he said simply.

My throat seized as unfamiliar, raw fear pooled inside of me. Without thinking, I twisted my hand and grabbed his, holding on tightly. "No," I whispered. "Please." I couldn't say anything else, but that seemed to be enough. He brought our intertwined hands to his mouth and brushed his lips over the back of mine.

"Until we meet again, then, my love," he told me. Then he closed his eyes and his body went limp, falling back against the bed, still clutching our hands against his chest. I just sat there and stared at him, completely speechless, for a good fifteen minutes. My mind was whirling, trying to absorb what had just happened. Had that been the illness talking? Or…

Before my mental ramblings could go too far, the door cracked open and Quatre poked his head in. His eyes darted over the room in a way that said he'd felt the pulse of fear and panic. "Any change, Heero?" he asked once he'd ascertained that everything appeared to be normal.

I opened my mouth… then closed it. _Had_ there been a change? "Not that I can see." Belatedly, I realized that Duo was still clinging to my hand. I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened the second he felt mine become slack, and I gave up.

If Quatre thought that my less than straightforward answer was unusual, he didn't mention it as he pushed the door open and ventured into the room for the first time in days. He'd cried the first time he heard Duo calling his name in that frantic, desperate voice, and he hadn't been back since. I took the opportunity to survey him as he stood by the bed gazing down at Duo, hoping he wouldn't read into our joined hands. His face was pale and he looked tired, but overall, I guessed that he was mostly healed from his brief bout with sickness. One of his hands was rubbing idly at his chest, which was something he often did when his 'space heart' was bothering him.

"I felt… something…" he said slowly.

"What was it?" I looked at him sharply.

"I don't know. It felt similar to how Duo feels when we're in the middle of battle, but it was different at the same time. It was… darker." He seemed to be confused by his own words. "Now I don't feel anything."

"Nothing?" The memory of his voice asking that question hit me all over again. I knew I'd never forget the image of Duo smiling at me and asking me if he should die. For a moment, I wondered if maybe he had ignored what I'd said and Duo_ had_ died while I sat there staring blankly off into space. In a near panic, I turned to him. The steady rise and fall of his chest, combined with the fierce grip on my hand, was only slightly comforting.

"He's not dead," Quatre said quickly, and I realized that he must have felt the burst of panic. He'd become even more in tune with the four of us during the past few days. "It's more like… he's slipped so far beneath the surface that it's hard for me to feel him. I think he's finally fallen into a real sleep. Maybe it will help him get better."

Quatre was wrong. Duo got worse over the next twenty-four hours. His temperature shot up to an impossible degree. It would have killed anyone else, even me; I couldn't understand how he had survived so long. The others seemed to believe it was a matter of hours until his body gave out, though no one had the nerve to say as much to me. I didn't need them to. I expected every rise and fall of his chest to be the last one, and it was a special kind of agony to sit there waiting patiently for the end to come. It was too reminiscent of my childhood, but I couldn't make myself leave him alone. I had to be there when he died.

Surprisingly, it never happened. After almost a full night and day, his temperature began to fall. By sunset that night, it was just slightly above normal at roughly 100 degrees. His breathing became easier, not so labored, and his skin cooled and became clammy to the touch. I crushed two pills into water and got Trowa to help me make him drink it. Amazingly, he didn't throw it up two minutes later. New hope began to rise inside of me, though I was careful not to let it show too much. We didn't know what would happen to him when he woke up. For all we knew, the temperature had cooked his brain inside of his head and he would _never _wake up. It was one of the few times in my life when my nightmares weren't about the war and the people I'd killed.

It was somewhere around three in the morning. I had been awake for almost forty-eight hours straight, though that wasn't entirely from wanting to sit by his side. It was hard to want to sleep when every dream becomes a nightmare. Instead, I had my laptop open on my lap and I was typing up some data when I noticed that I was being watched. I stiffened and peered down at him, searching for his eyes. The room was in semi-darkness, but I was pretty sure that I was looking at Duo, not whoever I had spoken to before.

"Duo?" I asked cautiously, just to be sure.

He blinked at me. "Heero?"

His voice was rough and harsh from disuse, but that didn't matter. It was definitely Duo, and never had my name sounded so good. I closed my laptop and set it down on the nightstand, then stood up and leaned over him. I put my hand on his forehead, something that had become second nature to me over the past few days. The feel of the slightly hot, clammy skin was a relief – he was still warm, but it was nothing like what he had been. Before he could say anything, I reached down, grabbed his shoulders, and pulled his body up against me in a hug.

It was a foreign thing for me, to hug someone. Anyone. I wasn't used to physical contact that didn't end in harm. That's one of the reasons why Duo used to annoy me so much. I'd gotten more used to it over the year or so that we'd been friends, mostly because I hadn't been given a choice, but it was one of the first times that I can remember initiating the contact. I felt awkward, but the gentle sensation of his breath against my neck was worth it.

For his part, Duo froze, tensing up for a moment. I was going to let go, but all of a sudden he relaxed and sighed, and then his arms crept up around my neck. He pressed his face into my shoulder and said, "I was really sick, wasn't I?"

"Ah."

"You didn't have to worry, Heero. Shinigami can't die."

The words gave me pause. For a split second, I remembered what that person had said about his _mortal body_ and shivered. "Baka. Why would I be worried about you?"

"Yeah, why would you be?" He snorted and his arms dropped. I reluctantly released him, and only realized after I had let go that I didn't want to. I wanted to pull him back into my arms and keep him there forever. That confused me, and I stood up quickly. Duo frowned a little at my abrupt move. I wondered if that was really disappointment in his eyes, or whether I was just seeing things.

"I have to let the others know that you've alive," I said as a way of explanation, just in case. "Quatre has been worrying himself sick over you."

Duo made a face. "Ah, Quat, he's too pure for his own good. Heero, can you help me shower first?"

I didn't know why the question unsettled me so much. I'd been looking after him for days by that point. I'd already given him several baths. But somehow, it felt different now that he was awake. "I don't think they're going to care what you look like." I knew they wouldn't. They'd be so relieved to have him alive that he could have done just about anything and no one would have cared.

He pouted.

I gave in.

The fever had taken a lot out of him. That was obvious from the moment that he rolled off of the bed and tried to stand up, and his legs gave out from the weight of his body. Fortunately, I'd had the foresight to wrap my arm around his waist, so he fell against me instead of to the floor. Duo laughed a little like it didn't bother him, but I was getting better at seeing past his mask, and I could tell that it did. Of course it would. None of us would have enjoyed feeling weak or like we couldn't do things on our own. Mindful of that, I helped him into the bathroom and turned the shower on to a reasonable temperature, but left when he asked me to. I could have hovered, but I didn't think it would do either of us any good.

While he was bathing, I changed the sheets on the bed and then sat down to wait. Twenty minutes passed with no sign from him, and although I wasn't worried, I was wondering what was keeping him. Feeling restless, I stood up and moved over to the door, listening. When I didn't hear anything coming from inside, I opened the door. Duo looked over at me and smiled sheepishly. It was obvious that he'd been trying to get out by himself, as he was propped up on the side of the tub, but his strength had failed him, leaving him precariously balanced on the edge.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to him. Briskly, not giving either of us time to be embarrassed, I grabbed his shoulders and lifted him, giving him the extra support he needed to climb out. I handed him a towel and turned away while he dried himself, then gave him a fresh pair of boxers and a t-shirt to put on. The t-shirt was one of mine and he was swimming in it; the fever had stolen weight that Duo couldn't really afford to lose. With half the hair from his normally neat braid hanging around his face, it crossed my mind that he looked adorable, but I fought that notion back and concentrated on getting him into bed.

"Pass me a brush," he requested quietly once he was sitting propped up on some pillows.

I did as he'd asked and watched as he hesitated briefly before un-tying his braid. In all the times we'd shared a room, I'd never seen his hair down. He always made sure that it was back in a neat braid before seeing any of us in the morning, so it surprised me how fascinating the gleaming locks of chestnut were to watch. Duo's face looked younger and softer when he wore his hair freely, and for the first time, I realized that there were strands of blond and red mixed in with the chestnut. My hand reached out of its own violation and stroked a portion that had ended up near my knee. It was softer than silk.

Duo had paused in brushing his hair to watch my hand. His violet eyes flicked up to mine and I read the wariness in them. His hair was special and private, shared by no one. Until he took a deep breath and held the brush out to me. His hand was shaking slightly, and I knew he was one second away from snatching the offer back. Without saying a word, I swiftly took the brush and moved to sit behind him, so that he was leaning more against me than he was the pillows.

I took my time, starting out near the bottom to get rid of the worst of the tangles before I took the brush anywhere near the crown of his head. He was quiet, the only sign he was still awake the way he occasionally tilted his head to help me get at another section. Every once in a while, he'd shiver, but I suspected it was from pleasure, not cold. I didn't enjoy many things in life, but to my surprise, this was one of them. It was very peaceful, and knowing that I had finally found a way to make Duo feel better was… I didn't know to describe it, but it was a good feeling.

I must have sat there for a good twenty minutes before I set the brush down and began patiently braiding his hair, loving the feel of the strands between my fingers. I didn't have experience with hair, but I'd braided rope before, and it was the same principle once I remembered that I couldn't make it quite so tight. I tied it off with his little hair tie and waited for him to move, but he didn't. His head rolled towards me when I touched him and I saw that he'd fallen asleep. Part of me wanted to let him sleep, but I knew that the others, especially Quatre, were still worried, and it would be cruel to make them wait. Regretfully, I nudged him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder to shake him awake. His eyes opened slowly, and I had to look away quickly before I did something that would only cause trouble.

"Wake up, Baka," I said lightly, knowing that my voice would reveal none of those thoughts. "I thought all this was so you could see the others?"

"Right." Duo rubbed one of his eyes. "I'm ready. You can call them."

I didn't need to call them. Quatre had never been more in tune with us than he was now. Not bothering to move, I closed my eyes and, for the first time sent Duo had woken up, really let myself feel the relief that had been pounding away in my heart from the second he called my name. It spread over me in a solid wave of warmth. Moments later, we heard footsteps thundering up the stairs. I smirked to myself as Duo sighed and shifted his weight. Much to my surprise, he leaned against me, placing his head on my shoulder just as the door swung open.

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Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. It really helps to hear that people are at least a little bit interested. Believe me, I was wishing I could have borrowed Heero's gun to knock some sense into this damned site last night! Enjoy.

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From the moment I'd heard the feet on the steps, I knew that it was Quat. It may sound odd, but I had long ago learned to identify the other pilots by the smallest of details. Call it a throwback to my childhood. Living on the streets, you learned young to be able know who was friend or foe long before you came face to face, because a split second could mean the difference between life and death. The war had only reaffirmed that. Quatre was the only one besides me who would be willing to run in the house until Oz was at the door, so I wasn't at all surprised to look up and see him standing in the doorway. His face was flushed and he was breathing heavily, and his eyes were locked onto me. I smiled back at him and that was all it took; he shouted my name and bounded across the room. He threw himself down on the bed and clutched at me, only because Heero was so close, he ended up grabbing onto both of us.

To their credit, Trowa and Wufei were only seconds behind him. I'll never forget the look of shock on Wufei's face when he saw that I was alive and kicking. His jaw just about dropped down to the floor. Even Trowa looked stunned, and he lifted his hand and brushed his bangs out of the way, like he was afraid that his one visible eye was playing tricks on him. I grinned at both of them and dropped my free hand onto Quatre's head, petting the soft golden hair. It felt soothing under my fingertips, and it must have felt good to Quatre, too, because he groaned and pressed closer.

"Maxwell?" Wufei said, sounding kind of dazed. "You're... alive?"

It was obvious that he and Trowa had come upstairs intending to find me dead. I grinned wider. "Didn't I tell you that nothing could kill Shinigami?" I asked smugly. Behind me, I felt Heero tense slightly, but I was trapped between him and Quatre and so couldn't twist around to look at him no matter how hard I tried. I would've given a lot to have been able to see into his eyes in an effort to find out what he was thinking, but Quatre was clinging to us like an octopus.

Finally, Trowa snapped out of his shock and stepped forward. He gently but firmly coaxed Quatre into letting go of me and pulled him off of the bed. Free, I shifted and curled closer to Heero without thinking about it. I was surprised that he hadn't pulled away when I put my head down on his shoulder in the first place, but if he was willing to stay, I was going to take full advantage of it. Heero Yuy was a mystery to me, and I had started out just wanting to know what was going on behind those cool blue eyes. Wufei once told me that I was my own worst enemy, and I guess in this case, it was true. Wanting to know more about Heero... teasing him, putting myself into those kinds of position where we spent time together and touched all the time, had had more of an effect on me than I wanted to admit.

"Duo, I can't believe it." Quatre lifted his hand and swiped at his eyes. "I thought for sure..."

"Never any doubt," I replied with a lazy smile. I was glad that I had gotten the chance to shower and re-braid my hair before I spoke to them. It was much easier to act like it was no big deal when I didn't look half dead. "You okay, Quat?"

"I'm_ fine_." He leaned back against Trowa, who absently looped an arm around his waist, and absently rubbed a hand over his chest as I looked the two of them over carefully, wondering if things had finally transpired between them. Quat and I would have to have a long talk sometime soon.

"It's good that you're awake," Trowa said, speaking to me for the first time that he'd entered the room. His visible emerald eye swept over me, and I felt a chill pass down my spine at the intensity in that gaze. "We've received orders from the doctors. We have to move out."

Heero went stiff behind me. "Now?"

"They're issuing new coordinates to our Gundams as we speak. We have to go pick them up and make our way to a new safe house. Oz soldiers are getting too close for comfort." His hand tightened briefly around Quatre's waist. "We're leaving in twenty minutes."

With a sharp nod, Heero slipped out from behind me, leaving me wishing that he could have stayed just a bit longer. I was forgotten as the other four went into a blur of motion, packing up the two rooms that we had occupied and making sure that no sign of us would remain. Once or twice, I started to get out of bed with the intention of helping, but Heero - annoyingly enough - seemed to have developed a sixth sense and glared at me to the point where I knew it would be easier just to stay put every time I so much as touched the covers. Plus, I didn't want to admit it - not even to myself - but I was so tired that it was a struggle just to stay awake and watch them get ready to run. I wanted nothing more than to put my head down and fall back asleep, but I refused to look any weaker in front of the others than I already had.

When I knew that they were ready, I pushed the covers back and slowly got to my feet. Heero looked like he wanted to protest, but he seemed to know better. I was determined to make it down to the car under my own power. Trowa, Wufei, and Quatre went on ahead, while Heero stayed back with me. We moved at an agonizingly slow pace down the hall to the elevator, and I knew that Heero wanted to grab me and leave already, but he restrained himself, and I was grateful for that. Well, until the doors swished open and I caught sight of the three OZ soldiers in the lobby. I sucked in a breath sharply and his head turned, locking onto them instantly. Without a word, he scooped me up in his arms and was out the doors before they could catch sight of us.

The next thing I knew, I had been put into the backseat of a car beside Wufei and Heero was sliding into the driver's seat. On the other side of Wufei, Quatre was flipping through a book. Trowa was up front beside Heero. I wondered how Wufei had come to sit in the middle; normally, that was a spot he avoided at all costs, especially if I was going to be one of the people sitting beside him. He'd once claimed that I was worse than any interrogation method that Oz could come up with. I'm sure it was meant as an insult, but I'd taken it as a compliment. It was good to know that I hadn't lost my touch at annoying him, and judging by the warning look he shot me when I buckled my seatbelt, he didn't agree.

He didn't need to worry, though. Within about ten minutes of Heero driving, I could feel the desire to sleep tugging at me, like an annoying little kid who won't stop poking you. I tried to fight it, but eventually it washed over me, pulling me down into darkness. I woke periodically, never really comfortable with sleeping in a moving car, and found Heero's eyes on me every time I stirred. There was something comforting in knowing that he was watching over me. Maybe that's why Wufei hadn't put a bullet between my eyes when, at some point, I had ended up leaning against his shoulder. I swear I was asleep at the time, though I figured he probably thought it was done as another method of annoyance. I shifted, restless, and lifted my head to peer blearily around the car, squinting in the semi-darkness.

"Go back to sleep, Duo," Heero said quietly. His eyes were focused on me in the rear view mirror. No one else in the car was awake, and I wondered if he'd really spoken or if I'd dreamed it.

Regardless, I thought about ignoring him. I really did. I never liked to listen to Heero too much, just in case he started getting used to it and expecting it all the time, but it was like my body was two steps ahead of me and not listening to what_ I_ wanted at all. My eyes crashed shut and I didn't remember anything else until the car stopping woke me up again. I heard voices talking softly, but nothing really registered until a wave of cold air made me shiver. The voices stopped and then someone climbed into the car next to me. An arm wrapped around my shoulders and I was pulled snugly against a warm body. It felt nice. I didn't need to open my eyes to know it was Heero. I could tell by the scent that it was him. He seemed determined to stop me from freezing to death no matter what it took.

I drifted again after that. In and out. In and out. It was frustrating, not being able to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. My memories were vague and disjointed, like a video that keeps skipping all of the important parts. To be fair, I wasn't _really_ surprised - mortal bodies aren't really built to withstand a god's power, and back when I had been sick at the orphanage, it had taken me weeks to get back to normal after my I'd survived the sickness that had nearly killed me. I didn't have weeks now, though. I'd barely had hours, but it already felt like it should have been more than enough. I'd try my best to stay awake and focus, but before I knew it, I would be waking up all over again with no memory of closing my eyes.

In retrospect, I was fortunate that we'd had to move so quickly; I would have had to face some pretty uncomfortable questions otherwise, and I didn't know how to answer them without giving too much away. I had no clue how much I was even allowed to tell them, but I didn't think it was very much, so it was a mixed blessing in the end. It gave me a little bit of time to regroup. Too bad I slept through most of it.

In fact, I slept pretty much the whole way. Most of the trip was just a blur. Sometimes Heero tried to get me to wake up and accept food, but I always rejected it. Food turned my stomach and made me feel even worse than before. All I wanted to do was sleep. If a mission had come in for me, I doubted I would have been able to do it, and a part of me was truly surprised that the other pilots hadn't decided that I was expendable and left me behind. After all, I was one of the ones who weren't really cut out to be a pilot if you asked the others. Too cheerful, too annoying, too… well, let's just say I would have thought that they'd have been pleased to have an excuse to get rid of me.

But the next time I woke up was when Heero carried me into Wing. That shocked the hell out of me. All of us were very possessive of our Gundams and I couldn't remember ever having been inside another one, especially Heero's. I couldn't imagine even _asking_. I didn't understand why he hadn't put me in Deathscythe, but I didn't have the nerve to question him. He sat down in his seat and buckled himself in and then set me down in between his legs, so that my head was resting against his inner thigh. It was the kind of position that would have bothered me a lot more - or maybe I would've enjoyed it, who knows? - if I had been more awake, but as it was, the heat radiating off of him felt so delicious that I just closed my eyes again. The cockpits were really only designed for one person, so it was a good thing I was small, or I wouldn't have fit. Heero changed Wing into flight mode and grabbed Deathscythe's shoulders to bring her along.

I was awake during most of the flight, though like before, I drifted a lot. Dozing. I was tired of sleeping so much, though. I wasn't used to spending so much time resting, and I felt like I was in some sort of twisted prison. As soon as Heero set both of our Gundams down, I stood up and fumbled my way out of the cockpit. I actually almost fell to my death - my muscles didn't want to cooperate, and felt weak and rubbery when I moved - but I caught myself just in time and managed to climb down to the ground. It felt good to be vertical again, even if I couldn't quite keep my eyes all the way open as I walked over to Deathscythe. I examined her closely under the pretence of wanting to make sure that Heero's flight hadn't put any dents or scratches on her, but really, it just felt nice to be near her again.

Heero landed behind me and, without saying a word, started to cover our Gundams with foliage from the forest. I forced myself to help. He kept looking at me doubtfully, but I tried to ignore his piercing gaze. I_ needed_ to do this, needed to feel like I was pulling my weight and doing something – anything – other than sleeping all the time. Exhaustion dragged at my bones, and more than once I had to pinch the inside of my wrist to keep myself awake, but I kept going until not a single trace of Deathscythe or Wing remained. My knees were actually shaking by that time, and the world kept threatening to fade out, but I felt better than I had in days.

"Duo. Come on."

I turned and looked at Heero. I'd been leaning against Deathscythe's leg, now disguised as a bush, and trying to catch my breath. I'd forgotten about the walk to the safehouse, which could be anywhere from a mile to five or more. The mere thought made my legs threaten to buckle. I knew I'd never make it, but I refused to let Heero carry me. I pushed myself off and walked towards him. It was more work to walk in a straight line than I'd thought, and he reached out and grabbed my arm to keep me from toppling over.

"Baka," he said with a sigh. "You're still sick, you know. Don't you know your limits?"

I felt myself pout. "I hate being sick," I muttered childishly. It was the only thing I could think of to say. There was no way that I could explain my deepest fear; that he would decide I was expendable after all and leave me behind. A good percentage of the nightmares that I'd suffered during my illness were of being left alone, and it made me shudder just to contemplate.

Prussian blue eyes stared at me, though I couldn't tell what he was thinking. His face was a perfectly emotionless mask. I half-expected him to walk away from me, and was shocked when he suddenly turned and knelt, presenting his back to me. I just stood there for a minute, dumbfounded and a bit confused, until he looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. That patented 'you're being an idiot' look got me moving. I moved forward on legs that quivered and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He reached back and grabbed my knees, yanking me against him as he stood up in one smooth movement. The world fell away and I swallowed a yelp, clinging to his shoulders as he readjusted his hold, sliding his hands higher to grip my thighs.

I slept on the way back. I didn't want to – when was the next time I'd have the chance to wrap my legs around Heero Yuy's waist? It killed me that I wasn't getting to enjoy this – but I couldn't help it. I was vaguely aware of the others joining us at one point. I remembered hearing Quatre asking Heero if I was alright, and someone put their hand on my back to help steady my weight. If I'd felt threatened, or worried, I could have forced myself to stay awake. That I was willing to sleep and be vulnerable around not just Heero, but the other pilots, was a shocking thing to me. Somewhere along the line, they'd come to be important to me. All things considered, it shouldn't have been surprising, but… it was.

We reached the safehouse after a couple of hours. There were three bedrooms, meaning Wufei would get to sleep on a bed, not a couch. Heero took me upstairs to the one we would share and set me down on the bed. It felt wonderful against my aching muscles. He left the room and I thought he was leaving me alone to sleep, but no such luck. Strong hands shook me awake what felt like seconds later, and I opened my eyes to be confronted with the sight of piping hot soup. Steam rose and made my stomach curl.

"No, I'm good," I said instantly.

"You haven't eaten in days," Heero said. I recognized the stubborn look on his face. If I didn't eat, he'd hold me down and pour it down my throat, and I was so weak I probably wouldn't have been able to stop him. Reluctantly, I sat up and reached for mug. The first few sips made me feel like throwing up, but gradually my stomach grew more receptive to the idea of food, and the soup began to feel good. When I was done with that, he took the mug back and gave me a piece of dry toast.

"You make a good mother," I muttered, nibbling at the toast.

He just looked at me. I swallowed hard, unnerved by the force of his stare. Before I had the chance to think of some way to distract him, he leaned forward and said, "I want to know what's going on, Duo, and we're not going anywhere until I get some answers."

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Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews. I find myself enjoying this story more the longer it gets. I hope everyone else feels the same way. Enjoy.

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If I had been someone who was less capable of keeping a calm expression, I probably wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to laugh at the look on Duo's face. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped, but it only last a split second before he blinked and then his mask came up; a great big smile spread across his face and he laughed a little like I was crazy. I realized all over again that he was pretty proficient at whipping that jester mask across his face. After all, he'd been able to fool me for more than a few times. But I wasn't falling for it any longer. I knew that there was something odd going on, and I knew that he held the answers. Getting them out of him, however, was going to be the real challenge. For someone who didn't lie, Duo had the world's most amazing ability when it came to dodging questions.

"What do you mean, Hee-chan?" he asked, a strain of false joviality running through his voice. He set the piece of toast I had given him down on the bed, and it was only because I was watching him closely that I was able to see that his fingers were actually shaking a little. I'd thrown him off, that much was obvious. It was to my advantage, so I decided to ignore the fact that he'd called me by that annoying, completely inappropriate nickname.

"You know what I mean. Don't play dumb, Baka, it really doesn't suit you," I said, folding my arms. Duo wasn't stupid – far from it, though you'd never know it from how he acted. All of the pilots had to have some measure of intelligence, and while his smarts didn't necessarily come from books, I knew he was capable of giving most of the Oz soldiers a run for their money. But part of his mask was blending in, and that meant pretending that he didn't know anything about everything. "I've had it with your cryptic comments about Shinigami. Up until now, you had me believing that it was just a facade you put on in battle. I had even considered that you had just convinced yourself it was the truth. But now... I think there's something more that you're not telling us, and I want to know."

He flinched, his eyes darting around the room, like he was mentally sizing up the place to see how far he would get. It was a lost cause and we both knew it. On a good day, Duo could probably out-manoeuvre me. He was a master at finding hiding places that the rest of us would never stop to consider. But I had the clear advantage on him when he was sick and so exhausted that he hadn't even been able to walk back to the safe house. It was evident that helping me camouflage the Gundams had completely sapped what little strength he'd built up, and he hadn't yet fully recovered from over-doing it. Even if he tried to run, I'd catch him with no problems.

"Hee-chan... I..." His voice trailed off and he shivered, curling in on himself. I steeled myself against his efforts to look as pitiful as possible, though I wasn't entirely sure it was an act. Automatically, my hands reached out and pulled the covers up around his shoulders. He looked astonished that I'd bothered, and that hurt, though I was careful to keep the emotion from my face.

"You can tell me, Duo," I said, making an effort to inject a little bit of caring into my voice. It was harder than it sounded. I was so used to talking with a complete monotone. But it was Duo, so I forced myself. "Whatever it is you've been hiding – you can tell me."

His big violet eyes looked up at me. I was struck by how young he looked at that moment as he said, "I'm not sure I'm supposed to. I don't want to get you guys in trouble."

"Trouble with whom? The doctors?" I asked, wondering if this had been something they were involved with from the beginning. Nothing would surprise me about them anymore, but I found it difficult to believe that he would be so reluctant to tell me something based on their orders. Still, I wasn't ruling anything out.

Duo laughed bitterly. "No, I couldn't care less about them. It's... Well... I don't really know why I_ couldn't_ tell you, because you'll probably figure it out sooner or later. It's not the kind of thing that can be kept a secret forever." I noticed that he was gripping the blanket so hard that his knuckles had turned white. Without thinking, I reached out and took his hands, switching his grip to me. His expression switched to shock, and he stared at me for a long moment silently, but then his hands tightened around mine to the point where it would've broken a normal human's fingers, and he said in a rush, "I'm Shinigami. For real."

I took a minute to sort that out. "What do you mean, for real?"

"I'm Shinigami. He is me. We're one and the same. I'm the God of Death, Heero," he said. His grip on mine didn't waver, and now I could feel desperation in how hard he was clutching me, like he expected me to storm out of the room. I didn't, though. I had come for answers and I was going to get them no matter what the cost.

"Explain," I said simply.

"There's more than one god." Duo didn't meet my eyes as he spoke. He stared down at our hands. "For pretty much everything on this world, there's a god or goddess for it. Sometimes there's more than one, and then there's the whole hierarchy of angels and demigods and all that crap. For the most part, they live on an alternate plain, only visiting the human world when they have work to do. Like when a human dies and an Angel of Death comes to take their soul away to the other side." I realized that he was actually shaking as he spoke. It was upsetting him to talk, but he pressed on. "Every once in a while, we have to... to come down to Earth. We get born as humans when something is going to happen that requires our presence."

I understood where he was going. "Are you saying that you're the God of Death... reborn?" It wasn't as surprising as it could have been. My brief conversation with Shinigami was still fresh in my mind. If it hadn't been for that, I probably would have been able to ignore the other weird little things that had happened, but I couldn't let that go.

He nodded and swallowed hard. "That's right. All those times when I said I was Shinigami... I wasn't lying." His voice came out a tiny whisper.

I didn't say anything for a few moments. I was aware that every second I was silent, he suffered a little more, but I wanted to make sure my thoughts were clear. "Are you and Shinigami one person?"

"Yes," he said hesitantly, seemingly surprised by the question. Obviously I wasn't reacting the way he had thought that I would. "For the most part. There are some aspects of Shinigami – of any god, really – that are so dark that the human psyche couldn't handle them without going insane. Those parts are hidden and only come out when we're at war and I lose control."

That made sense, and it explained why Duo didn't remember the conversation I'd had with Shinigami. He'd been totally out of it at the time. Clearly I'd had a close encounter with that darker side, and it made me understand why a normal human wouldn't be able to handle it. "Do_ you_ have powers?" I asked, more because I was curious than anything else. It was one thing to suspect, but it was another thing entirely to have your suspicions confirmed, and I'd need time to think things over before I said too much.

"Not really." Duo shrugged a little. The motion made the covers fall down around his hips. "Well – like you saw – it's much harder to kill me. When I get near death, Shinigami's power kicks in and usually heals me, but it's really hard on my body, and it takes me time to recuperate. I would be dead right now if it weren't for Shinigami."

That thought filled me with a terror I didn't want to examine too closely. Instead, I squeezed his hands. I had more questions for him – chiefly, what Shinigami had meant by referring to me as "my love" and his comment about me not remembering things, and Duo's cryptic remark about Quatre and gods not being able to die – but I would wait and ask those another day. I had the feeling that Duo needed some time to absorb that someone else knew his secret. There was no sense in overloading him by forcing him to share too much before he was really ready, and he was beginning to get tired; I could tell by how heavily lidded his eyes were.

"Why don't you go back to sleep for a while?" I suggested. "You look tired."

Duo stared at me. "Don't you... want to ask me questions?" he said, looking confused. A yawn escaped him before he could stop it, and he muffled it hastily. "Heero, how can you accept this so calmly?"

I smirked. "Baka. I always knew you were crazy, so this isn't really that surprising." It was the truth, but the confusion lingered in his eyes, and I knew it was only the fact that he was exhausted that was keeping him from pushing the issue. "Lay down, Duo."

He pouted but obeyed, stretching out on the bed with the covers tucked up around his shoulders. He made no move to let go of my hands and I didn't insist on it. I sat on the chair beside him, patiently waiting until he could keep his eyes open no longer. They fluttered shut and I heard his breathing become deep and even. Even then, I stayed there for an extra few minutes, just enjoying the sound of him breathing so easily, when mere days ago, every breath had been a struggle. I didn't know that I was entirely happy with the whole Shinigami thing, but I was grateful for the fact that it had allowed Duo to survive. I noticed that his braid had slipped over his shoulder and was trailing over the edge of the bed. I picked it up, sliding the silken strands through my fingers thoughtfully.

J had made sure that my education was as complete as he could make it. That included a wide variety of subjects from sex to weapons and everything in between, but it definitely hadn't included gods. I had never bothered to look into that sort of thing before, as to me, it was useless, and J had felt the same way; there wasn't really a way that religion could be used as a torture method. But Duo's revelation was changing that. I needed to be more informed about this before we spoke again, and I decided that while he was sleeping, I would take the opportunity to do some research on my laptop. But first, I hadn't eaten anything since we'd left the hotel, and I could tell that my body needed the nourishment. I'd let a lot of things fall to the wayside when I was caring for Duo.

I set his braid back down on the bed and found my hand moving up to his face. He looked so young and peaceful when he was asleep. No one would ever believe that he was actually one of the wanted Gundam Pilots. I smirked at the thought and brushed a few stray strands of chestnut hair out of his face. His skin was smooth beneath my fingertips, and I realized that I liked standing there beside him, guarding his sleep. As if in agreement, Duo sighed softly and leaned closer into my touch, so that my hand was cupping his cheek. My heart began to pound so quickly that I jumped and snatched my hand away. Before I woke him up, I turned and strode out of the room.

Delicious smells were floating up the staircase, but I needed a shower first to sort myself out. I didn't understand why I was feeling this way, or even what, exactly, I was feeling. As I said, sex was nothing new or surprising to me; J, believing that there were few levels that Oz wouldn't stoop to, had hired a few different people to teach me the ways of sex so that I would be prepared for anything. But in spite of the fact that Duo was beautiful – and I was definitely attracted to him, there was no question about that – I didn't_ just_ want to have sex with him, though I admit that the thought was incredibly appealing. I liked having him around and I worried about him when he wasn't. It was leading up to something that I wasn't comfortable with or ready to face, so I was relieved when Quatre knocked on the door and gave me something else to think about.

Or at least, I was until he said, somewhat apologetically, that Relena was downstairs on the doorstep waiting for me.

"She's _what_?" I jerked the shower curtain open, all thoughts of Duo and me fading into obscurity for the time being. Relena was driving me crazy. I didn't understand why she persisted in following me around when I'd never been anything but rude to her. No matter how many times I threatened her, she seemed to believe that I wasn't serious, and I had no idea how else to get rid of her. The thought of hiding, however, was growing extremely appealing.

"Waiting outside for you," Quatre repeated. Now that I had turned the water off, I could hear the faint annoyance in his voice. "She says she won't leave until she talks to you, and she's threatening to follow us if _we_ leave."

Fucking hell. I grabbed a pair of jeans and yanked them on, then pulled on a tank top. I stormed out of the room and down the stairs with Quatre trailing behind me, no doubt not wanting to get too close when I was pissed. Wufei and Trowa were both in the kitchen when I walked past, though they appeared to be ignoring me, or possibly Relena. Probably Relena. She had the potential to be a very nice girl, but at times she was worse than a dog with bone; once she decided that she wanted something, she refused to let it go. And unfortunately, I was currently that something. I was seriously contemplating shooting her between the eyes and accepting whatever consequences came my way.

"Heero!" she exclaimed happily when she saw me in the doorway. I glanced around, noticing that she was apparently alone, without even that dreadful pink limo that she uses for transportation. How the hell had she gotten here? Better yet, how the hell had she found us? I knew it wouldn't do any good to ask. She'd think I was worried about her and that was the last impression I wanted to give.

"What are you doing here, Relena?" I said flatly.

"I came to see you, of course. It's been a whole month since we last spoke, and I was getting worried about you." Her blue eyes were filled with genuine concern, but that only pissed me off even more.

I just stared at her for a long time. "Relena, go away."

"But I came all this way just to find you!" She looked wounded. "Haven't you been worried that you hadn't heard from me in so long?"

"No, not really." Honestly? She'd been the furthest thing from my mind. Even if Duo had been healthy, that still would have been true. "You're putting us in danger just by being here. Anyone could have followed you!"

"I'd never put you in danger, Heero. I was really careful." She took a step forward, like she was going to try to enter the house. I leaned against the doorframe immediately and folded my arms pointedly. No way was I going to inflict her on the other pilots, especially Duo, and I knew if she got into the house, it would be hours before she left.

"Go_ away_," I repeated firmly. "You shouldn't be here. Go home, Relena, and don't come back."

Suddenly, her face changed, and she smiled as a hint of a blush crossed her cheeks. "Oh, I understand. You're worried that I might get hurt if a battle breaks out."

_What_? How did she even_ do_ that? How much more clear could I make the words 'go away'? My hand twitched instinctively towards my gun, and that's when the door behind me flew open and Quatre appeared beside me, poking his head out around my side. I realized that either he'd been watching us, or his space heart had tipped him off that I was fast reaching the point of shooting and not caring what happened afterwards.

"Relena-sama, it was very kind of you to visit Heero, but you really must leave," Quatre said. He sounded perfectly sweet, but there was an underlying current of steel to his voice that left no room for argument. Relena pouted. She had nothing on Duo.

"Alright, I'm going. Good-bye Heero." Batting her eyes, she hesitated for a moment like she was waiting for something. When I said nothing, she sighed and turned, walking away with the slightest slump to her shoulders. Quatre grabbed my wrist and yanked me into the house, then slammed the door and locked it.

"She's gone," he announced in the direction of the kitchen. "Thank Allah."

"You're going to have to do something about her, Yuy," said Wufei as he and Trowa came into the room.

I looked at him incredulously. "Do _what_? Every time I tell her to go away, she takes it as a compliment."

He had the nerve to smirk. "Then maybe you should try complimenting her."

Yeah, right. I glared in response, appetite lost, and stomped upstairs to go check on Duo.

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Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews. A couple of mentioned that they thought Heero was acting a little OOC. Really, I find Heero is OOC when it comes to romance no matter who he is paired with. I try my best to keep them in character but with someone like Heero, that's no always possible. Bear with me. Enjoy.

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"Duo. Wake up."

I opened my eyes to dark material and realized that I was lying on my stomach on the bed. It felt like I had only been sleeping for mere minutes. Annoyed that Heero had woke me up again, I rolled over, ready to yell at him, and was startled into temporary silence by the sight of Wufei hovering over me. He looked stressed, which was unusual for him; he always made an effort to look calm and composed no matter what was going on. It was one of the reasons that I had so much fun messing with him. But I could tell that something was wrong, and I fought off the urge to fall straight back asleep and instead managed to half-heartedly prop myself up on my arms.

"'Fei? What's wrong?" I mumbled wearily. "Where's Heero?" Then I blinked and looked up at him in shock as realization crashed over me. "Wait. Did you just call me Duo?"

Wufei just shook his head. "Now is not the time, Maxwell," he said, and I felt a flash of disappointment that he had returned to using my last name. "Yuy, Barton and Winner were called out on missions this morning. Another one just came in."

"For you?" I leaned back against the pillows and muffled a yawn. Fuck, it was annoying that I couldn't stay awake for more than five minutes, but it was more than that this time around. I felt awful again. My throat ached and my skin felt hot, though I wouldn't have said as much to Wufei. Part of me was glad that Heero wasn't there, because I had the feeling he would have noticed right away, but a stronger part of me wished that he _was_ around. I always felt better when he was with me. I closed my eyes, hating myself for that. How had I allowed myself to become so dependent on him already?

"Maxwell? Maxwell. Duo!"

I opened my eyes and blinked fuzzily up at Wufei. A tray had appeared on the nightstand beside me, and I realized that I must have passed out again while I was thinking about Heero. "Sorry, man," I muttered, sitting up and shoving my braid over one shoulder. "I must have drifted off for a minute. What were you saying?"

Wufei stared at me for a long moment before he sighed. "Never mind, Maxwell. It wasn't important. Now, listen. I have to leave, but this mission shouldn't take me very long. I'll probably be back by tomorrow morning, and the others should be back by sunset. Barton left enough food to feed three of you for at least four or five days, so stay away from the stove and make sure that you don't kill yourself while I'm gone, got it? I don't want to survive a battle only to have Yuy kill me because you were acting like your normal idiot self."

"I didn't know you cared so much," I joked in an effort to hide my confusion. Why would Heero care what happened to me? "I'll be fine, 'Fei."

"See that you are." With a sharp nod, he spun on his heel and walked out of the room. I remained still, staring up at the ceiling, until I heard the door downstairs close a few minutes later. I could picture him walking along the path towards his Gundam, all business now that a mission had come. I should have been down there with him, not laying here in bed. This was getting ridiculous.

Fortunately, Heero was no longer around to stop me, so I pushed the covers back and put my feet down on the floor. It was cold, but it felt good to be vertical again. I swayed a little when I stood up, but I wasn't a Gundam Pilot for nothing. I had determination and stubbornness in spades, and that was more than enough for me to drag myself into the bathroom and take a long shower. I even washed my hair for the first time in days. I was exhausted by the time I was done, and I nearly killed myself when my legs gave out on me as I climbed out of the bathtub, but by the time a couple of hours had passed I was sitting on the bed dressed in a fresh pair of boxers and one of Heero's tank tops.

Yeah, okay, I knew he'd probably kill me for wearing his clothes. Maybe. He had given me one of his shirts the last time he helped me to bathe back at the hotel, though that may have been more for the sake of convenience than anything else. It just made me feel better to have something that belonged to him near me. When I pressed my face into the hem of the shirt, I could smell him, and it helped to clear my head. I didn't want to think about what that may have meant, so I turned my attention to the food Wufei had brought me.

Out of the five of us, Trowa was the best cook. Wufei still considered that woman's work (though I had noticed that he was beginning to realize that when it was between cooking and starving, he was starting to soften towards the idea). Heero was alright, but he was better at baking than cooking, strange at it may sound. Baking had to be precise, while cooking offered more opportunity for experimentation when you didn't necessarily have all the required ingredients, and Mr. Perfect Soldier wasn't great at that. I had never cooked in my life, and I had the tendency to get distracted. Quatre had never cooked, either, though for entirely different reasons, but with Trowa teaching him he was improving daily. He had the patience for it.

I could tell that the food in front of me had been made by Trowa. It was some kind of soup loaded with chicken and vegetables, and it was utterly delicious even though it was cold. I ate every last bite with no problem, though I was full by the time I was done. My stomach had definitely shrunk while I was sick, and I had lost weight. That much was obvious considering that Heero's tank top was hanging off of me. If I wasn't careful, I was going to end up as the smallest of the group. I cringed at the thought and, although I didn't really want any more food, grabbed the freshly baked roll that had been left beside the soup.

Once I was finished eating, I was at a loss. I was tired, but I wasn't really sleepy, and I was sick of being in bed, but I knew that going outside wasn't a good idea. I finally decided to explore. This safe house was nicer and larger than some of the ones we had stayed at in the past; there were three bedrooms, meaning that for once Wufei wasn't stuck on the couch because he refused to share with anyone. I had to admit, it had taken me a while to get used to sleeping in the same bed with Heero, but now I had gotten to the point where I enjoyed it and disliked having two beds. Trowa and Quatre always shared as well, and I suspected that they felt the same way.

I went downstairs and wandered through the living room and into the kitchen. I couldn't resist checking out the 'fridge, and I saw that Wufei wasn't kidding when he said that Trowa had left lots of food prepared for me. There was enough to last all five of us several days. I knew that the other pilots thought that I ate a lot, but it was something else from my childhood that I'd never been able to shake off. When you're not sure when you're going to get the chance to eat again, you stock up on food while you have the chance. I was getting better at it - I no longer ate until it hurt - but I never walked away hungry unless I had to.

The house seemed oddly quiet without the presence of the others, and I returned to the living room and turned the television on. There wasn't much I was interested in watching, but I liked having the background noise. I stretched out on the couch and looked up at the ceiling, wondering when Heero would return. And the others too, of course. I would have been happy to see any of them right then. But I wanted to see Heero most of all. I fell asleep dreaming about him coming back safely.

I woke up hours later feeling cold and disoriented. The room had darkened and my stomach was growling. I sat up and dizziness nearly made me fall backwards. It's not a fun experience when the room is actually moving around you; I stubbed my toes half a dozen times on my way into the kitchen. As I staggered over to the table, I noticed that it was nearly three in the morning, which meant I'd slept for much longer than I had anticipated. So much for staying awake long enough to do something. Shaking my head, I pulled a tray of sandwiches out of the 'fridge and ate a couple. I felt a little better when I was done, but not by much. I decided to go back upstairs and sleep until Wufei got back.

But he never arrived.

I came to at about six that night. I pushed the covers away and listened hard for any sounds in the house, wondering if I'd missed his return. There was nothing, though that didn't necessarily mean a lot. Wufei was quiet by nature, and he could get lost in meditation for hours at a time. I pulled myself out of the bed and stumbled out of my room and down the hall, expecting to see him in bed or at least around, but he wasn't there. And I could tell that the rest of the house hadn't been disturbed. Even my plate was still on the kitchen table where I'd left it. He was hours late.

I tried to avoid getting worried. Really, it wasn't like it was unheard of for us to be late returning from missions. Anything could go wrong, and things often did, but it didn't necessarily mean that he had been captured. I checked my laptop to see if I'd gotten any messages from G, but there was nothing. Not that it really meant anything. Even if something had happened, we weren't supposed to make rescues a priority. The doctors had never intended for the five of us to be anything other than distant comrades who partnered up every once in a while. It was just another version of their greatest flaw as far as I was concerned. They forgot we were humans.

Well, sort of.

I'd spent the day sleeping so I wasn't really tired anymore, and I was determined to do something that wouldn't result in me dozing off. I ended up retrieving my guns from upstairs and sitting down on the couch. It had been a while since I'd been conscious enough to really pay attention to them. I was halfway through polishing when I heard a sound that made my nerves go on high alert. A door had squeaked as it was opened… the front door. Instantly, my hand shot out and grabbed one of the guns I'd already worked on. We never entered a house without announcing ourselves in some way. It was an easy way to get shot.

I took aim over the back of the couch and waited, barely breathing, for the person to come around the corner. A shadow moved past the doorway and I fired. A girlish scream that was surprisingly familiar rang through the air, and then the lights came on. I found myself looking at a very pale Relena Darlian. She clutched one hand to her chest as she stared from me and my gun to the hole in the wall, inches from where her head had been. A hair to the right and I would've hit. Damn.

"You tried to shoot me," she said in amazement.

"What the hell do _you_ want?" I asked, annoyed. "Heero's not here. Go away."

"You tried to _shoot me_!"

I sighed and dropped the gun back on the couch, though I kept it in reach. I didn't know Relena. "What did you expect? You broke into the house of a soldier, Relena."

Relena glared at me and dropped her hands to her sides. "If I'd known you were going to try to kill me, I wouldn't have come," she snapped, striding across the room. She grabbed the remote and turned the television on. "I was hoping someone other than you would be here, but I suppose you'll do. Look!"

I looked. I have to admit, I'd always heard of that saying "my blood ran cold", but I never understood it until that minute.

_" - special news report,_" the reporter was saying. "_We're told that Oz soldiers have successfully captured four of the five notorious Gundam Pilots. Only one pilot remains at large and he is assumed to be armed and extremely dangerous - "_

She muted the TV and looked expectantly at me. "Well?"

"I think they're right. I _am_ armed and dangerous."

Never let it be said that Relena's not dangerous. She leaned over the side of the couch and slapped me upside the head. Hard. "I knew coming to you would be a bad idea!" she fumed. "Don't you care that Heero has been captured? They're going to be executed in two days time!"

Didn't I _care_? Relena would never know, but I didn't have the words to describe the feeling that went through me when I saw that newscast. It was like someone had reached into my chest and grabbed my heart, squeezing it so tightly that I couldn't breathe. Even now, I had trouble catching my breath. How had they _all _been captured? It hit me in a flash that they'd been deliberately set up. Oz must have planning this for days, and it was likely that if I hadn't been sick, I probably would have been captured as well.

I knew then what I had to do.

"I'll take care of this, Relena." I heard myself say. I felt like I was a hundred miles away from her. "Go home."

Relena stared at me. Something had changed in her face. For the first time, she looked a little afraid of me. "What are you going to do?"

"That's none of your business." I said with finality and hoped that she would listen, because if I only had two days, I would have to act fast. Fortunately, Relena seemed to understand that I wasn't in the mood to entertain her.

"Good luck," she said softly. I could tell that she wanted to say more, but she must have decided against it. She just looked at me for a minute longer before she turned around and went to the door, and I knew what she was thinking as she let herself out. She was wondering if she had just condemned _all _of the Gundam pilots to their death.

Not if I had anything to say about it.

I locked the door after she was gone and then went to get ready. My body was moving on auto-pilot as I re-braided my hair and got dressed, and then started putting on/hiding my knives and weapons. I hated to admit it, but I was already tired. The simplest of things seemed to drain my energy a lot faster than usual, and it didn't help that I hadn't seen Heero in so long. I could feel Shinigami's strength surging inside of my body, though, wanting to fight against the fate that was waiting for everyone I - we - cared about. It took everything I had to hold that power back, but I didn't dare repress it too much. If things worked the way I wanted, I would need that power soon.

Once I was ready, I snagged some rations from the kitchen and hurried out the door. The trek to Deathscythe felt like it took forever, but it gave me time to go over my plan, half-formed though it was. Heero and Quatre would be _pissed _at my recklessness, but I couldn't think of any other way to do this. It would be one thing if just one of us had been captured, but four? There was no way I could break them out on my own; the soldiers would be expecting me to come for them.

Fortunately, they would be expecting me, Duo Maxwell, Gundam Pilot.

They had no idea they'd be going up against Duo Maxwell, Shinigami.

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Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews. I love hearing that people are still enjoying the story.

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I should have known it was a trap. We_ all_ should have known. We - or at least I - were especially trained to spot that kind of thing. There are no excuses, but admittedly I was thinking about Duo more than I was thinking about the mission, and thanks to that lapse in attention, I was sitting in a cell with my hands chained above my head. The hands of the other pilots were chained with Gundanium just like mine, so there was no chance that we would be able to escape. I stared at the door and thought to myself a little disgustedly that if Duo were there, he probably would have been able to pick the lock in minutes. I half-wished he was.

I took it back, though, when the cell doors opened and two smirking Oz soldiers walked in carrying a very familiar body between them. Quatre gasped and Wufei swore softly as the two soldiers slammed Duo up against the wall and chained his hands over his head. I noticed that he looked awful. His face was white and even from where I stood, I could see the beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks. There was a stunning bruise on the right side of his face that had spread from his temple all the way down to his chin and neck. Someone had done a nice job of knocking him out. I wanted to find that someone and introduce them to my fists.

"Oh, Allah, Duo," Quatre whispered as soon as the soldiers were gone. "Now we're all here!" He sounded lost and more than a little afraid. I envied him at that moment, being able to feel fear. All I felt was desperation and anger.

Duo stirred at the sound of Quatre's voice and lifted his head, looking around at us with a blank gaze. For a moment, I was truly concerned that the soldiers might have done some serious damage, but recognition flashed into his eyes at last and he smiled wearily. "Hey, guys. What's the idea of having a party without me?"

"Only you, Maxwell," Wufei muttered, his shoulders relaxing at Duo's teasing. "I thought I told you to stay out of trouble!"

"I couldn't let you guys have all the fun," Duo said lightly, rolling his shoulders. It must have hurt, considering that his hands were chained just as tightly as mine were, but he gave no sign of it. His braid had fallen over his shoulder when he was shoved against the wall, and I suddenly realized that he was trying to reach it, but his hands were tied too high and none of us were close enough to help. They'd been smart this time and left a good five feet of distance between each of us.

"Only you would think of this as fun, Maxwell," Wufei said sourly, glaring at Duo. At some point, he'd lost his tie, and his hair was hanging in his face. He kept shaking his head to be able to see since he couldn't pull it back into a ponytail.

"It will be, if you give me a minute," Duo muttered, pressing himself tightly against the wall. He tilted his head so that his eyes meant mine, and I forgot the situation as I looked into his violet gaze. For a moment, I could see so much in his gaze that normally would have been hidden from me. Fear was the most prevalent of all the emotions, and I _knew_ that the news of our capture had terrified him. Those countless hours at his side, listening to his nightmares, had taught me that he feared being left alone most of all. We looked away at the same time.

A heavy silence fell over the room. Even Quatre, who normally would have been the one trying to lift our spirits, didn't seem to know what to say. All five of us had been captured, which had never happened before. I had no doubt that the Oz soldiers must have been pretty pleased with themselves, and the rest of the world was no doubt rejoicing that we 'deadly terrorists' were finally going to be executed. I wondered to myself what the doctors were thinking. No doubt J was probably furious that I had allowed myself to be captured. He'd be relieved that we were going to be executed so soon, though. Oz had apparently decided to forego interrogating us in favour of getting us out of the way as fast as possible. They were probably afraid we'd escape somehow.

Not for the first time, I took a good long look around the cell. Oz had learned from the last couple of times that all of us had been captured and escaped; this time around, we were in a larger than normal cell with reinforced walls. The door had a small slot at the bottom just big enough to push in food or water, not that we could get to it, and it wasn't nearly wide enough for even Duo or Quatre to slip through. Even I wasn't strong enough to break the chains, though I'd tried several times, and it seemed like even Duo's lock picking skills weren't going to help. I was stumped, though I didn't want to admit it.

Neither, apparently, did Duo. After several minutes of uselessly twisting his hands every which way, he left out an exasperated groan. His head fell back against his chest, causing his bangs to hide his face from us. I grimaced, thinking that he was going through the same process that I had until it finally dawned on him that it was hopeless. I should have known better than that. It didn't even hit me that something was happening when the temperature in the cell dropped. It was subtle, but I still noticed it. I just didn't attribute it to him at first.

Then he lifted his head a bit, and I stopped breathing.

Duo Maxwell had left the building, and Shinigami had taken his place. It wasn't something everyone would see, but it was obvious to me at a glance. He looked mostly the same, but those dark, nearly black, violet eyes had a strange shine to them that sent chills down my spine. I suddenly remembered what Duo had told me and how, when a god was in mortal form, the 'god' part of them was reduced to the part that the human couldn't handle without going insane. This was Death walking around and it didn't seem like Duo was going to do anything to stop him anytime soon.

I actually felt sorry for Oz at that moment.

"Duo? Are you okay?" Quatre asked. There was a weird look on his face, and he was standing very still. His eyes were intent on the top of Shinigami's head.

Shinigami looked up at us, taking in our confused and/or horrified expressions, and smiled. Without saying a word, he jerked his arms down. Those chains snapped apart like they were made of the world's weakest metal instead of Gundanium. He tossed the remains of the cuffs on the floor and stretched leisurely, seemingly not caring that the four of us were staring at him like he'd sprouted wings and learned to fly. It was only when he turned towards the door and that smile took on a distinctly wicked edge that I snapped out of my stupor.

"Wait!" I said quickly. "Shinigami, don't!"

I didn't know what it was I said that got his attention, but he actually stopped and looked back at me. I stared at him, wanting to say something that would make him stop and see reason, but unsure of what that something should be. Our eyes met and for a split second, I could have sworn that I saw something of Duo in his eyes. It wasn't much, but it comforted me when he changed direction and walked over to me, moving close enough that he was standing mere inches from my body. He smiled up at me and lifted a hand, sliding it into the hair at the base of my neck. I shivered.

"We meet again, my love," he said affectionately, his voice a low, soft purr. "And you call_ me_ a magnet for trouble."

Wufei choked at the term of affection, but I didn't pay any attention to him. Shinigami's eyes were strangely captivating when he was so close. I couldn't look away. "Did Duo get captured just to help us?" I asked, feeling like the prison was a million miles away.

"Yes, of course." He looked at me like that should have been obvious. His fingers moved, gently caressing the back of my neck and prompting another shiver.

"What... what do you plan to do?"

"We're going to escape," he replied, looking over his shoulder at the door. I had the feeling that his wicked, deadly look had returned again and I thought quickly, desperate to rein him in before he went crazy. Duo's words about Shinigami were ringing in my ears and I couldn't help thinking that if he lost control and went insane, he wouldn't stop until the world ended.

"You won't get hurt, right?" I said at last. It was the only thing I could think of to say, but it worked. He turned back to me and our eyes locked again, but this time I could tell he was searching for something in my face. I didn't know if he found what he was looking for or not, but his expression softened and he flattened his hand so that he was cupping the back of my head.

"No need to worry, my love." His voice was oddly soothing. I didn't even tense when he leaned forward, pressing our bodies together. I felt his lips touch the side of my neck, and something inside of my chest twisted. It took my breath away while it was happening, but when it stopped, I felt… different. Centered. Better. And Shinigami looked extremely pleased as he went back up on the tips of his toes and whispered, "I've decided that we could have some fun together on this planet after all. I do so hate having to watch over you from above when we belong together. I'll keep this mortal body safe for a while yet."

I realized, suddenly, that my hands were free, though I couldn't remember when he'd broken the chains. Shinigami winked at me and slipped his hands away from me, though he made sure to keep contact until he absolutely had to let go. He moved on to the others, easily freeing Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre, before he strolled back over to the door and started examining the thick door. Wufei was looking between the two of us with an expression of utter bewilderment. Trowa was staring at me, and Quatre was frowning; I could practically see his mind working furiously.

"Shall we go?" Shinigami asked at last.

"How?" Wufei demanded. "Not even you… could…" His voice trailed off as Shinigami wrapped his fingers around the cross that Duo always wore and easily snapped the necklace. He muttered something under his breath and the cross _changed_, growing longer and thinner. Seconds later, Shinigami was holding a scythe with a truly wicked looking blade. My mouth went dry and I was barely conscious of the others taking a collective step back as he raised the scythe and brought it down against the door. The scythe sliced through the metal like it was paper. One well placed kick later, Shinigami walked calmly out into the hall.

"Heero…" Quatre whispered, sounding worried.

"I know." I swallowed hard. It worried me that I found none of this surprising. In fact, it felt _right_. "I think it's okay. He won't hurt us." How did I know that? Yet even as I said it, I knew it was true.

"It's not us I'm worried about," Quatre muttered.

I glanced at him and then followed Shinigami into the hallway with the others right behind me. He was stalking through the halls like he owned the place, all but daring anyone to challenge him. Those who had a modicum of intelligence turned and ran when they saw him coming, but that's not to say that other soldiers didn't try. Several of them opened fire, though they never came close to hitting him; he moved with an inhuman speed, dodging bullets and coming in for the kill while they were preoccupied. All it took was a single touch from that scythe and they died without ever knowing what had happened.

The only time he actually attacked someone was when a soldier shot Trowa in the shoulder. We were about ten feet behind Shinigami and taking out whatever soldiers tried to come up behind us, but we were surprised by a sneak attack from above. Before I could even think about retaliating or getting under cover, Shinigami was up there, dark eyes merciless and enraged as he dragged the soldier out from where he'd been hiding in a hidden alcove. The soldier had a good foot and several pounds on him, but that didn't matter; he pinned that man to the wall with ease. I was too far away to hear what he was saying, but the stark terror on the soldier's face… I'll never forget that. Shinigami broke his neck, then, but I truly believed that he died from fear long before those pale hands ever slid around his neck.

Trowa stood up slowly, one hand cupping the place where he'd been shot. None of us dared to speak as Shinigami tossed the body of the soldier aside and sauntered back to us. I was pretty sure that I saw Wufei take a half-step back, and Trowa edged in front of Quatre, but I couldn't really blame them. I didn't know what I was expecting him to do next, but it definitely wasn't him thrusting the scythe into my hands as he walked past. I looked down at it blankly, waiting to expire on the spot, but nothing happened.

"Yuy…" Wufei's eyes were enormous. "You didn't…"

"It won't hurt my brothers _or_ my lover," Shinigami informed us before I could answer. He stopped in front of Trowa and stared intently at the spot where he had been wounded. Slowly, without being asked, Trowa moved his hand. Blood was seeping down the front of his shirt, staining the green a rusty color. Shinigami reached out and touched the spot with a gentleness that surprised all of us. I couldn't see what was going on because he had his back to me, but Trowa must have realized what was going to happen because his arms shot out and he caught Shinigami when he collapsed suddenly. A grimace of pain crossed his face as his shoulder was strained and Quatre stepped forward quickly, helping to ease the dead weight to the ground.

"Is he alright?" I asked sharply, chilled by my own thought.

"I think he just passed out," said Trowa, prying one of his eyes open. He stood up, swaying slightly, and grabbed his shoulder again.

Quatre knelt and placed a hand on his forehead, feeling for a fever. He didn't find one, but he didn't look very happy, either. "We should get out of here," he said at last, frowning slightly. "I think… this is Duo again. I can feel him." He glanced up at us. "That means we're on our own if more soldiers come to see what happened, and we don't have any weapons."

None that any of us were willing to use, anyway. I passed the scythe to Wufei, who took it gingerly, and knelt, picking Duo up easily. He muttered my name as his head fell against my shoulder, leaving me to believe that Quatre was right. Shinigami had yet to call me 'Heero'. As I shifted his slender body, I wondered if Shinigami had willingly given up control, or if he'd reached the point where continuing would have done damage to Duo. My arms tightened unconsciously as that thought went through my mind; it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Let's go," I ordered out loud. Trowa stayed close to me as we proceeded down the hall. Quatre stole a few guns from the fallen soldiers and handed one to each of us. I couldn't use mine with Duo, but I stuffed it down the back of my jeans and felt better for having one near. We didn't end up needing them, though. Either Shinigami had truly killed them all or the smarter ones just had the intelligence to get out of the building, because we met no more soldiers as we headed to the upper floors.

Our Gundams had been placed in a large hangar, and none of them looked any worse for the wear. There was no one guarding them - probably most of the soldiers had come running when the alarms went off. Apparently Duo had not brought Deathscythe along, so I took him with me into Wing again and set him down on the floor between my legs as I powered Wing up. It was slightly uncomfortable to have his warm body pressing against me as my hands started automatically guiding Wing to freedom, but it was the only place I wanted him to be.

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Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thank you so much for all of the reviews. I love the reception that this story has been getting. Enjoy!

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_"Are you sure about this?" The speaker was a tall woman with features impossible to describe, as her hair, skin and eyes shifted to a different color every minute. She was wearing a plain white robe, as though to try to make up for the dizzying array of color her body already offered._

_ A man cloaked heavily in shadows answered, "Yes. Their presence will be required on Earth this time around. I'm afraid it's become too big for things to be easily solved by interference from up here."_

_ "Those humans." Another woman shook her head. "Can't be left to themselves, I swear."_

_ "You _wanted_ to keep those humans alive, remember," said the first woman. "You know that they won't go alone. The others won't allow them to. It will be all of them -"_

_ "I know. It's necessary. Better for more to go than not enough. We've learned our lessons in that respect once before, you remember."_

_ "Oh - very well, let them go. But if this goes sideways, don't come crying to me!"_

_ "As though anyone would," the second woman muttered. "Shall we -"_

It was the horrible pounding in my head that cut straight through the weird dream I was having, preventing me from hearing the rest of the conversation. I stayed still for a minute, trying to remember what had happened. Had we been in a fight? Was that why I wanted to remove my head from my shoulders? I heard someone in the room moving, and it all came back to me in a rush. Relena. The other pilots being captured and sentenced. The prison. Had we escaped?

It was the first time that I could remember willingly letting Shinigami out instead of losing control during a battle or being so sick I couldn't stop him, and apparently, it didn't leave me fatigued. That was the good part. The bad part was that, instead, it gave me a contender for the world's worst headache. Even the sound of my own breathing was far too loud, and the fact that there was light in the room when I made the grave mistake of tentatively opening my eyes made me wish that someone would knock me out again. I groaned and clapped a hand to my eyes, then very nearly groaned again when my head _throbbed_ from the sound. I swallowed it just in time.

"Duo?" a very soft voice whispered. I could tell that someone had pulled the curtain across the window and turned off the lights just by how much darker it got behind my eyelids. I risked a quick look and saw a short, blurry form that could only be Quatre hovering over me. No doubt he could feel the pain I was in and wanted to try and fix it. Good old Quat.

"'S my head," I rasped, immediately wishing that I hadn't. It hurt so much that my stomach rebelled and I gagged at the sour taste that rose at the back of my throat. Hands grabbed my shoulders and hauled me into a sitting position just in time for me to throw up. That only made my head worse, which in turn made my stomach even more upset. Eventually it stopped only because I had nothing left to vomit, and I fell back against the pillow and curled up into a ball.

Over the roaring in my ears, I heard the sound of voices whispering, and then someone left the room. I thought I had been left alone, but a hand touched my forehead, smoothing my sweaty bangs away from my face. It felt cool against my heated skin and I pressed closer to it, hoping that it was Quat or Heero and not Trowa or Wufei. I couldn't sleep with how badly my head was aching, though for the first time during this whole mess, I wanted nothing more than to pass out for several uninterrupted hours.

The door opened and whoever had left came back in. "Duo, swallow these," Quat whispered, pressing something against my lips. Reluctantly, I allowed him to shove the pills into my mouth. My throat was so dry I had trouble swallowing them, but I refused the water he tried to give me. I didn't want to have anything else in my stomach to throw up.

Gradually, after what seemed like hours, the pain in my head began to lessen and I was able to open my eyes fully. The world swung slowly into focus to reveal Quatre sitting beside me calmly flipping through a book, though the light was so dim I had no idea how he could see the pages. There was no one else in the room with us. His head rose when I moved and he smiled, looking pleased that I was conscious.

"Do you feel better?" he asked, still keeping his voice soft. "One of my sisters gets migraines. I gave you a couple of her pills. She says they're a miracle."

"They helped," I admitted. The pain wasn't gone entirely, but it was definitely more manageable. It took some effort, but I managed to get myself into a sitting position. Quat twitched, looking like he wanted to help me, but he knew better. I allowed him to fix the pillows for me, though, and noticed that whatever I had thrown up into was gone. "Where are we?"

"One of my family's cabins," he answered. "After we escaped, we decided that going back to the safe house wouldn't be a good idea. It was compromised."

I looked at him and rolled my eyes. "Relena?"

Quatre shook his head in amazement. "She came _back_?"

"She came to tell me that Heero had been captured," I said. I wasn't aware of how it must have sounded until I saw his eyes widen slightly.

"Duo…" Quatre said, giving me an intent look. "What's going on between you and Heero?"

Fuck. I swallowed hard, thankful that, for whatever reason, Quatre hadn't phrased his question in such a way that I _had_ to tell the truth. Just because I would never tell a lie didn't mean I had to be entirely honest; there are plenty of ways to dance around the truth without lying and I was a master at all of them. Quat had caught onto that a long time ago and so when he really wanted to know something, he usually knew exactly how to ask. The fact that he hadn't made me wonder how long it had been since he slept. He certainly looked tired.

"There's a lot going on between me and Hee-chan, Q," I replied in the most cheerful voice I could muster, realizing that if I remained silent any longer he'd ask again. "But if you want specifics, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for a day when my head doesn't hurt so much." All technically true. I just didn't mention that, if I had my way, my head would hurt every minute from now until the day I died, even if I had to throw myself down the stairs on a regular basis. Anything to avoid have a heart to heart talk with Quat about things I wasn't fully ready to face. He had an annoying way of prying more information out of me than I wanted to give.

His eyes narrowed, and I held my breath, suddenly worried that he really would push the issue. Instead, he shook his head and gave up. "Alright. Well, don't worry too much about Relena from now on. She'll have trouble finding us here."

"Good," I muttered childishly. I had no interest in seeing the little blonde princess anytime soon. Her presence grated on my nerves and it wasn't just because she constantly clung to Heero. Relena, for all that I hardly knew her, didn't like me. She had made that clear from the moment that she realized I was Heero's partner, and it was only made worse by the fact that I was from L2. Every time she came across Heero and me in school, she would do her best to pretend that I didn't exist. Most of the time it worked for me.

Quatre just smiled. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked. "Do you think you can eat?"

The mere mention of food made me groan. "No food," I said, which is probably the first time in my life I've ever said those words. I just couldn't handle the thought of eating anything. "Where are the others?"

"Wufei was called out on a mission. He left a couple of hours ago," he told me, pushing the glass of water back into my hands. I took the hint and drank eagerly as he continued, "Trowa is downstairs. I'd say he's cooking from the feel of it. And I made Heero go to bed a couple of hours ago."

"You _made_ Heero go to bed?" I echoed.

"He refused to leave your side," Quatre said. My eyes widened as I stared at him. "He carried you out of the prison after you collapsed, kept you in Wing with him, and then carried you into the house. He's been caring for you since we got here. I had to force him to go get some sleep, and then it was only after he nearly collapsed that he agreed." A smile tugged at his lips as he took in my shocked face. "Heero certainly seems to care for you a great deal, Duo."

"Heero doesn't care about anyone," I said automatically, averting my eyes from his knowing expression. Was it really true? Had Heero really been acting so out of character for someone like me? It seemed inconceivable, but then again, he _had_ been with me every time I woke up while I was sick. Normally, just the thought that someone might care about me would send me into a panic. I was Shinigami, the god of Death, and it was dangerous for any mortal to get close to me. Usually it resulted in their premature deaths. It was like death could rub off me.

But Hee-chan, Quat, Trowa and 'Fei were all different - or at least, I hoped they were. Since they were like me, maybe that meant they wouldn't be affected by the curse of death. I had to hope that was true. I would have left them if I had to, but I didn't want to. The five of us were like a gang, though Wufei would have killed me if he'd heard me say that. They were my brothers. Well, except for Heero. He was something different altogether, though I couldn't really put a word to what was happening between us yet. I silently lowered my head, looking down at the sheets, and wondered if I was being selfish by sticking around.

"Duo." The mattress shifted as Quatre sat down beside me. I was surprised to feel his arm come out and wrap around my shoulders, both to comfort me and to keep me in place. He was stronger than he looked. "Why does hearing that Heero cares about you make you feel upset? I know that you like him, too. I can feel it." His eyes were studying the top of my head, I could tell. When I didn't answer, he asked, "Do you remember what happened?"

Startled by the change in subject, I risked a look up at him. It was an interesting question. Normally Shinigami only came out when I was too far gone to control him, like when I was seriously ill or wounded, or when I was in battle. So no, usually I didn't remember what he said or did. Occasionally after a battle, I'd get a brief, disjointed flash, but never anything more than that. This was the first time I had ever willingly called upon that power... and I could remember bits and pieces of what happened, but it was like I'd been a distant observer instead of an active participant. I remembered freeing the other pilots from their chains and Heero talking to me, though his actual words were lost to me. And I remembered killing. I dropped my eyes.

"A little," I mumbled finally.

"How much is a little?" he pressed.

"The Oz soldiers," I said in a whisper, like it was some secret between us. Whether I was in Deathscythe or holding a gun, I didn't feel much of anything when I killed someone. Just a grim sense of 'this is how it has to be' that I hid behind enjoyment or a bouncy sense of laughter. But when Shinigami was killing people, I felt only a strong sense of_ rightness_. I knew that the soldiers had all died in peace, and that, in a way, it was the best gift I could have given them. I could hardly tell him that, though.

Quat had stiffened a little. His hand began a gentle, rhythmic stroking of my braid that was comforting. "Yes, Shinigami killed most of the soldiers in that prison."

It was the first time he'd acknowledged Shinigami's name out loud. I winced a little, not liking the way it rolled off of his tongue. "_Most_ of them?"

"Some of them were smart enough to run." A small smirk greeted me when I glanced at him. It was obvious he didn't feel bad for the ones that hadn't. "The media is going crazy trying to figure out what happened and how the Gundam Pilots could have possibly escaped when we were supposed to be under lock and key. Everyone is more afraid of us than ever. Even the doctors are demanding to know how we achieved the impossible."

I couldn't help smiling as well. "Have you shared anything with them?" I asked, unable to control the brief, sharp pulse of fear that hammered through me. I had been very careful not to let _anyone_ know about Shinigami and that went triple for the doctors. I hated to think of how they might try to take advantage of that power. Quatre must have felt it, too, because he smiled and leaned his forehead against mine.

"Of course not. As far as they know, we escaped and that's all there is to it," he said in a matter-of-fact voice. "They don't need to know why or how that happened."

I breathed a nearly silent sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"We should be the ones thanking you, Duo. We probably would have died if it hadn't been for you." The grim note in his voice made me shudder. I knew realistically that if they had died, their souls wouldn't have gone to me or anyone. They'd have ascended without me and that was that. But I hated the thought of it regardless. I dreaded the day the end came; if we had lived before, I knew I'd felt the same way every time. There are some things you just never get used to, Death or no.

"It was nothing," I said awkwardly, realizing that he was waiting for me to speak. "I mean, I can't win this war by myself."

"I don't know about that," he muttered. "Duo… what's going on? Tell me the truth."

I was going to tell him. I really was. I'd come to terms with the fact that I would have to tell all of them the moment I came up with my plan to get myself captured. But as I straightened and opened my mouth, Shinigami's power surged inside of me. I gasped, shocked, and felt a blinding pain tear through my head when I instinctively shoved back. He _fought_ me, something that he'd never done before. I was only vaguely aware of Quatre rolling off of the bed and shouting - at me? At someone else? - but his words couldn't penetrate the fog. It hurt too much.

The next thing I knew, strong and familiar hands were gripping my shoulders as a low voice sounded in my ears. Both Shinigami and I recognized the touch and voice as Heero's, and to my amazement, the pain gradually stopped as Shinigami started to settle down. His power hadn't completely retreated, because I could still feel it looming below the surface, but it felt different than it had before. Before, it had always felt like a scythe, ready to tear my weaker human body to shreds. Now, it was… more manageable, like a weapon I could wield instead of one that was being wielded against me.

I pried my eyes open, wondering what had caused such a change. To my horror, I discovered that I was sitting in Heero's lap with my fists clenched tightly in the front of his tank top, so tightly that my fingers ached. Had I crawled there or was he responsible? I couldn't figure out which option would be more mortifying. One of his arms was around my shoulders, holding me in place, and the other was under my chin, preventing me from looking away. He looked tired, but that didn't seem to do anything to change the level of his strength.

"Let go," I said, though I wasn't sure whether I was speaking to him or myself. My hands refused to release his top.

"Status?" he asked, ignoring my command.

I answered automatically. "Mild headache and pain in muscles, but other than that, I'm fine." It was the truth. The longer I sat there, the better I felt and the better Heero looked. It was like his exhaustion was disappearing right in front of my eyes.

"You scared Winner."

Fuck. I could remember Quat talking to me, but I hadn't been able to respond. No doubt he'd nearly had a heart attack. I groaned to myself and dropped my head, wondering why this was happening. Why now? What did that dream mean? What was it about Heero that made Shinigami want to behave? Why was Quatre so certain that something was going on between us? What had really happened in that prison that I didn't remember? I had so many questions and no answers, but that last one - at least I could start with that. I wasn't sure Heero would want to tell me, but I was determined to find out.

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Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews, guys. I hope the ending to this chapter gives you that warm, squeal worthy fangirl feeling. I know it did for me. Enjoy!

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"Okay, Heero. I want to know what's going on."

To say that those weren't exactly the words I wanted to hear was an understatement. It was sometime early in the morning after the day when Quatre had ordered me into bed, only for me to be woken up less than an hour later by him screaming my name. I'd run into Duo's room and ordered Quatre out before grabbing Duo, who had been writhing in pain and unresponsive to anything I said or did. Gradually he'd become more lucid, though he hadn't wanted to explain why he'd been in so much pain in the first place. I remembered that he had turned the tables and started trying to ask me questions about what happened at the prison, but I didn't want to tell him much, and at some point we must have fallen asleep.

I woke up hours later to find myself on my back in Duo's bed with the braided baka himself curled up against my chest. My left arm had gone numb because he was sleeping on it, and I felt sticky and disoriented, but I was still reluctant to move. One of my guilty pleasures was watching Duo sleep, if only because he looked so peaceful in between nightmares. But then Trowa had poked his head in and warned me that Quatre was coming up the stairs to check on Duo, and that was enough incentive to get me moving. It wasn't a scene I wanted Quatre to walk in on.

So I'd reluctantly wriggled out of Duo's hold and left him in bed to sleep off the rest of the effects of Shinigami. After a shower, I actually felt human again. Now, as I sat at the table with two bright turquoise eyes staring me down, I wished that I had just stayed in bed instead of coming downstairs. I knew that there would be no escaping Quatre's third degree. He had that look in his eyes that meant he was going to stop at nothing to get the truth. I shifted uneasily, wishing that I could turn to Trowa for help, but he had his back to me and was trying to look busy with the pile of eggs that he was scrambling. There was no way he'd go against his lover for a second time in a row but I glared at his back anyway.

"Heero," Quatre said sharply, drawing my attention back to him. I made the mistake of looking him in the eyes, which he used to his advantage when he leaned forward intently. "After what happened at the prison, I think the three of us have a right to know what's going on with you and Duo. Wufei isn't here at the moment but he should return no later than tonight and we can fill him in then. In the meantime, I want you to explain this to Trowa and me right now."

I said nothing and contemplated my options. One: ignore Quatre and risk pissing him off, which would piss Trowa off and result in my having to watch my back for knives that were 'accidentally' tossed in my direction. Two: hope like hell that J made himself useful for once and called me out on a mission in the next two minutes. Three: hope that Duo would wake up and save me the trouble of having to explain for him. Four: run. Five: break down and explain. None of those options looked particularly attractive. Number one would only cause trouble, especially once Wufei returned, the chances of two or three happening were extremely unlikely, and four was useless because I was pretty sure Trowa could out-run me. That left me with five. Damn.

I sighed. "I don't know how much I can tell you. It's really Duo's story to tell. You should ask him." Okay, so I went with option six: stall tactics. I looked away from that penetrating gaze as Trowa set a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of me, relieved for the chance to distract myself. Quatre may not have been the strongest physically, but he had the mental willpower to more than make up for it.

"I'm not asking Duo. I'm asking you," Quatre said calmly, accepting his own plate with a warm smile of thanks. "Heero, I've tried talking to Duo, but he's completely out of it right now. I think he was having trouble following our conversation, and then he just started screaming." He paused, briefly, and I felt more than saw him wince. I hadn't been joking when I'd told Duo that he had scared Quatre. I haven't heard Quatre panic that badly for along time. By the time I was out of bed and made it across the hall, he was almost in tears.

Much as it annoyed me to admit, he had a point, and he knew it. With the way that Duo danced around things, it could be months before he broke down and told them the truth. I knew it was inevitable, considering what the three of them had seen, so I decided to just give in and fill them in on what little I knew. "Duo is Shinigami," I said shortly, cutting off a small piece of egg and lifting it to my mouth. I chewed slowly while I watched Quatre and Trowa for a reaction. Trowa frowned slightly while Quatre just looked confused. I elaborated a little. "Literally. All those times that we thought he had just given himself the title of Shinigami, well, we were wrong. It turns out that he actually _is_ the god of death in mortal form."

"Yuy," Trowa said, staring at me. "Are you sick?"

I glared at him in response. "No, I'm perfectly fine and I'm telling you the truth. How else do you explain the scythe and the ability to kill people just by touching them with it? He didn't even have to _use_ the scythe on them if you remember. And he broke those chains. Chains made of Gundanium. No human could do that. Even I can't." And sometimes I'm not entirely sure I'm even human, I added silently.

"But..." Quatre trailed off and furrowed his brow. Whatever he had been expecting, this clearly wasn't it. "But Heero... what do you _mean_, he's Shinigami in mortal form?"

I shrugged, enjoying their obvious confusion. They'd asked for it. "Exactly what I said, Winner," I said crisply, forking up another mouthful of eggs. "Turns out there's more than one god or goddess and every so often, they get born on Earth as a mortal to... Well, to help out, I guess." Duo had never really explained why Shinigami was here. I doubted that he even knew. "Duo is one of them. He's Shinigami in a human body."

"And the rest of us?" said Trowa, who clearly hadn't forgotten some of the more cryptic comments that Duo had made.

I paused and took a drink from the cup of coffee that had been set on the table in front of me, stalling for time. Honestly, Duo and I hadn't gotten that far yet. So much had been going on that I'd never gotten the chance to ask him to explain everything. I had the feeling that the answer that was staring us all in the face was the truth, but I wasn't sure they were ready to face it. I wasn't sure I was ready to face it. I hadn't forgotten how different I had felt after Shinigami kissed me on the side of the neck. Sometimes that spot burned, and it made the rest of my body tingle. And during those times, it was like I could feel a foreign power running through my veins. The implications of that was something I was still trying to ignore.

"I don't know," I said finally. It was the only honest answer I could give them, even though I know they were hoping for more. "Sometimes I don't think that Duo completely knows, either."

Quatre had fallen silent. I could tell from the look on his face that he was struggling with what I had told them. I knew that he had to have suspected what I was going to tell him, but suspecting and hearing the truth are two completely different things. I said once that J had not taught me a lot about religion, and that was true. But I did know that Quatre's religion only worshipped one god. This kind of information had to be hard for him to hear. I had no doubt in my mind that he was struggling to reconcile the evidence that he had been presented with to his upbringing. It was not an easy place to be in and, having been there more than once myself, I did not envy him. Yet at the same time, he had been the one to ask.

A few minutes of silence ticked by before Trowa spoke again. "Can he control it?"

It was an interesting question. I took my time answering. From what I'd seen, Duo did have some form of control over Shinigami. And for whatever reason, the god seemed to be willing to listen to me. Again, I answered as honestly as I could. "For the most part, yes. But when he's extremely ill or over-extending himself, it's easier for Shinigami to get free. That burns him out, though. I think… the prison was the first time he let Shinigami out on purpose."

Trowa nodded thoughtfully. I knew what he was thinking; he had come to the same conclusion that I had. Duo believed the rest of us were gods, too, and that we just didn't know it. But he didn't want to say anything in front of Quatre, who might find that one shock too many. Instead, he said, "Thank you for telling us the truth, Yuy. I trust you'll keep us informed as you find out more."

"I will," I said, grateful that he hadn't asked for anything more than that. I hadn't told them everything, but it was enough to sate their curiosity for the time being. It would be a while before they fully absorbed the shock I had just given him and I knew there was no point in saying anything more until they, particularly Quatre, were ready to hear it.

The rest of our meal was spent in silence. For someone who had been so eager to discover the truth, Quatre was suspiciously silent, focusing solely on his food and ignoring even Trowa. I locked eyes with Trowa and jerked my head over my shoulder towards the door, telling him without words that he and Quatre needed to go talk. Trowa nodded again and stood up, placing a gentle hand on Quatre's shoulder. He looked up in surprise and offered a weak smile that even I could tell was fake. Not a word was exchanged between them as Quatre stood up, put his still full plate in the sink, and followed Trowa out the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Or so I believed. No sooner had I stood up to tend to the dishes than I heard a familiar voice speak.

"You handled that well. Better than I thought you would've."

"And you couldn't have jumped in to help?" I said sarcastically, annoyed with myself for not having noticed that he had been standing there. And he'd been there for a while if he'd heard enough of the conversation to form an opinion.

Duo smirked at me and walked into the kitchen. He had changed his clothes and re-braided his hair, and now he walked over to the sink and picked up Quatre's plate. "I just thought I'd give you the chance," he said innocently, scooping up some of the egg with his fingers and popping it into his mouth. "I could tell you were looking forward to it, Hee-chan."

I glared at him. "Do not call me that," I ordered.

"Yeah, whatever, Hee-chan," he muttered with a smirk. I glared at him even more fiercely, wishing that he was close enough to punch. But that would have required moving, and I didn't know if I had the energy for that. Duo seemed to realize my dilemma because he stayed well out of reach as he devoured the rest of the eggs before putting the plate back in the sink and wiping his hands off. I thought he was going to leave after that, but instead, he looked at me again with a serious expression. I raised an eyebrow back at him, wondering why the force of his stare made me feel like he could see everything about me. Wondered why I liked it so much.

"What?" I asked finally, unable to remain silent any longer.

He started and blinked. "What? Oh, I was just thinking... I was being honest, you know. Thanks."

I shrugged tiredly, my anger leaving as fast as it had come. "I wasn't going to lie to them, though the thought did cross my mind. When they've had some time to accept what happened then you have to tell us the rest of it, Duo."

"Sure, on one condition." There was a spark in his eyes that told me I wasn't going to like what was coming. But my traitorous mouth opened and asked anyway.

"What would that be?"

He turned away and opened the fridge, mumbling something under his breath that I couldn't quite catch as he grabbed an apple. I raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed, rolling the plump fruit between his hands. A pink flush spread across as his cheeks. "I want you to brush my hair again."

I blinked, startled by the condition. I would have expected something embarrassing, but this was almost… sweet. I was flattered that he had enjoyed it enough to ask me to do it again, especially when was normally so protective of his hair. "Sure," I said, hoping that I didn't sound as eager as I thought I did. "Whenever you want." Too late, I realized from his surprised expression that he meant I'd only have to do it once, but my offer was already out there, and I wasn't about to take it back.

"Thanks, Heero," he said quietly. "I'm going to go check on my aibou."

"Alright." I thought about asking him if he felt well enough to be up and walking around already, but stopped myself from doing it at the last second. He might have been young, but Duo was not a child and he didn't appreciate being treated like one. None of us did. I was amazed that he had leaned on me as much as he had during the past few weeks and I knew that it wouldn't last now that he was feeling better So I remained silent as he walked out of the room, absently tossing his apple from hand to hand, and when I was sure he was gone I stood up and dumped the remains of my food into the garbage before heading back upstairs.

My laptop was running on my desk. I sat down in front of it more from habit than because I was truly curious to know what was going on and noticed immediately that there was nothing new from J. He was probably still angry with me for being foolish enough to get captured, as he'd never been out of contact with me for so long. I hadn't really spoken to him since before Duo got sick; the orders for the last mission had come in a short, perfunctory e-mail that could have been written by anyone.

I looked with disinterest at the screen, realizing that for quite possibly the first time in my life, I didn't feel like being on my laptop. There was some work that I could have done: J was likely expecting a full report on how we had escaped. Normally he wouldn't have cared, but the 'mystery' surrounding it would have been enough to make him curious. I knew that a report would have been enough to put me back in his good graces, but I was not inclined to give any of the doctors any more details than was absolutely necessary. Even just thinking about what J would do with the power of a god, especially the god of Death, was chilling.

I shook my head and pressed the top of the laptop down, wondering what Duo was doing to me. He had changed so much about me without even trying and sometimes I didn't even think he realized it. When I'd seen him being carried into that cell, it was like my heart stopped for a split second, and all I was able to think about was how much I did not want to see Duo die. That was not how the Perfect Soldier was supposed to act. When had Duo become more important to me than the lessons ingrained into me as a child?

Of course, there was one lesson I had learned that seemed to suit the situation perfectly. Follow your emotions. What were they telling me now? I hadn't wanted to risk paying attention to them before, but I knew I was at the point where I could no longer ignore them; I had to start listening. Everything in my life, somehow, had become about Duo. His health. His happiness. His survival. There were days that went by when the war didn't even cross my mind. That had never happened before and I didn't know what to do about it.

I stood up and started to walk over to my bed, feeling restless. As I passed by the window, a flash of color caught my eye, and I glanced out to see Duo and Trowa standing outside. Duo was saying something and waving his arms for emphasis, and there was the barest hint of a smile on Trowa's face as he listened. I leaned against the glass and watched the two of them, wondering why I felt such peace when I looked at Duo. It was something I'd never experienced, but I wanted more of it.

I wanted more of Duo.

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Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews. I tried to make this chapter a healthy mix of romance and information… Enjoy!

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Heero had done an even better job at talking to the others than I'd thought. Wufei returned and Trowa took him aside to explain the situation to him while I was out of the house. I half expected him or one of them to say something, but no one did. I found my cross on my pillow that night with no explanation for how it had come to be there. I vaguely remembered Shinigami changing into a scythe and guessed that it had reverted to a cross when he and his power retreated.

It was another three days before any of them approached me to find out more details, and even then, it was Heero. I was sitting on Deathscythe's leg with my head inside one of the panels, all of my concentration focused on fixing a small problem that would cause bigger problems when we went into battle, when I heard Heero calling my name. Because he didn't sound angry or frustrated, I pulled back and looked down at him, blinking in the bright light. He was standing on the ground peering up at me. My eyes instantly zeroed in on what he was carrying in his hands and my stomach growled greedily at the familiar sight of a white pizza box. The delicious smell wafting up to me made me finish my repair work a lot quicker than I probably should have but I felt like I was going to pass out if I didn't eat immediately.

"Where did you get this from?" I asked, landing on the ground beside him and eyeing the box hungrily. We sat down on the ground and he opened the box and passed me a slice before taking one for himself. I couldn't believe that Heero Yuy was willing to eat junk food without being forced, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. My taste buds cheered with joy at the first bite of that hot, cheesy goodness.

"I guess Barton didn't feel like cooking tonight," he said, watching me for a few seconds before he looked away and started in on his own piece. I was glad when he did. The strength of Heero's stare could be unnerving even though I had plenty of practice at ignoring it. "He and Winner went into town a few hours ago to stock up on more supplies and brought pizza back with them. I figured you would be annoyed if you missed out while it was still hot."

"Annoyed isn't the word," I mumbled through a mouthful of cheese. "Thanks, Hee-chan."

His jaw twitched. "Stop calling me that, Baka," he said, sounding exasperated.

I smirked into my pizza. "But it just fits you so well," I said with as much innocence as I could muster, popping the last of my slice into my mouth. I knew what it implied in his language and I knew why it annoyed him. It used to be that he would punch me for calling him that, but now he usually just glared and told me to knock it off. I felt we were making progress.

He glared at me harder, as expected, and gave me another slice of pizza. Probably he was hoping that if my mouth was full I wouldn't have the chance to tease him anymore. I decided to give him a break and devoured another three slices without saying anything at all. My stomach must have shrunk while I was sick because I couldn't manage anything more than that, but I was satisfyingly full by the time I was finished. I leaned back on my hands with a contented sigh and burped.

"That was excellent," I announced. "I haven't had pizza for a while."

"I know," Heero said softly. Something about the way he said it made me give him a second glance, to which he looked hastily away. An awkward silence settled over the two of us, one that I wasn't sure how to break. Normally I would've resorted to using my Joker mask because it was an easy way to get rid of tension, but I had the feeling that Heero wouldn't have appreciated me making any funny remarks at the moment. I found myself fiddling with the end of my braid instead, which I tended to do when I was nervous. After a little while, I felt eyes watching me intently and glanced up.

"What's wrong?" I asked, realizing that Heero was staring at my hands, or rather, the hair in my hands.

"Did you still want me to brush it later?" he said.

"Oh. Sure." I really hoped that I wasn't blushing. I hadn't intended to ask Heero for that at all. My original condition was going to be something that would annoy him, like all the pizza I could eat. But it had slipped out and once I asked, he'd agreed so quickly that there hadn't been a chance for me to take it back. Not that I really wanted to. Truth be told, I loved having my hair brushed but I didn't trust just anyone to do it. I wanted to experience it with Heero when I wasn't semi-conscious and reeling from illness.

"Tonight?" he suggested.

"Okay," I agreed, surprised that he was so anxious.

"Duo – "

"I think you guys are all gods, too." I hadn't meant to say that; if I didn't know better, I'd swear that Shinigami had been the one speaking. The second it came out, my eyes went wide with horror and I clapped a hand over my mouth. I didn't dare stay long enough to see Heero's reaction. I jumped to my feet, ready to run for it, and was jerked to a stop when his hand closed around the edge of my braid. I froze as pain lanced through my scalp. "Hee-chan, let go," I said without turning around to look at him.

"No," Heero said, sounding amazingly calm in spite of what I'd just told him. Even though he could sound composed under even the direst of circumstances, I decided to risk glancing back at him to see if he looked as calm as he sounded. To my surprise, his blue eyes were filled with amusement. When he saw that I wasn't going to run, his grip loosened on my braid to the point that it no longer hurt, though I noticed that he remained tense and ready to grab me if I chose to make another break for it. I was too puzzled by his reaction to bother. Slowly, I sat down, though I made sure to keep a fair distance between us just in case.

"You're not angry?" I asked, bewildered.

"I kind of saw it coming," he admitted. "While you were sick, you said some things that led us to the obvious conclusion."

Shit. I'd always had a big mouth, but that was never as evident as when I was either sick or drunk. I looked at him warily. "How come you didn't ask me about it before now?"

"Duo, you tried to run away whenever I asked you questions about Shinigami," he pointed out. "I could tell that you weren't ready to talk about it and that was okay with me. I asked the others not to speak to you until I did. You've been under a lot of stress and I didn't want to add to it unless it was necessary." He shrugged, a movement that looked entirely awkward on him, and smirked. "Besides, I knew you would break down and tell me sooner or later. You're horrible at keeping secrets."

I sputtered and punched him in the shoulder even though I knew it wouldn't really hurt him. I couldn't help thinking that Heero had no idea just how good I was at keeping secrets - and I hoped he never would. "That's not fair, Yuy. I can't control what Shinigami does or says."

"Excuses, excuses," he replied.

"Are you teasing me?" I asked in complete disbelief, wondering what kind of parallel universe I'd entered into. He just laughed. It was a good feeling knowing that I could make the Perfect Soldier laugh. His whole body relaxed and his blue eyes opened up wide and sparkled. I realized I was leaning towards him and quickly straightened, silently scolding myself. Next thing you know I'd be acting like some love-struck high school girl... like Relena. I shuddered at the thought and realized he was watching me closely.

"What kind of god?" he asked.

It was the inevitable question and I wished I had a good answer for him. Sadly, I didn't. "I don't know," I said reluctantly.

That obviously wasn't the answer he had been hoping for. "You don't know?"

"No." I looked away and took a deep breath, willing myself to remain calm, wondering if it would have been better to have stayed up there working on Deathscythe rather than willingly subject myself to this. Why the hell had I started this conversation? "I mean, I can make an educated guess, but no. I don't know. Not for sure."

"But you knew about Shinigami," he pointed out.

"It's pretty hard not to know when everyone around you keeps dying!" I snapped, suddenly angry even though I knew it was misdirected. He hadn't meant anything by the comment, but I was young when my gang died and left me as the sole survivor. Living on L2 at the time had been like living in a world full of ghosts, as every person that you met was either dying or terrified of dying. It was the first experience I'd had with Shinigami, with the strange, foreign power that kept me safe from things that should - would - have killed normal mortals. I knew there was something different about me but it was a while before I could put a name to it; some of the more exotic books that Father Maxwell had allowed me to look through had given me the idea, and when the Maxwell Orphanage burned to the ground and took everyone I cared for with it, I knew it for the truth that it was. Only the god of death could be so cursed. Being a Gundam Pilot had only confirmed my suspicions. But if it weren't for those experiences, I knew that I wouldn't have known. Shinigami would have been peacefully sleeping inside of me instead of raging with every word we spoke.

"Duo." There was a strange softness in his voice than I'd never heard before. I looked up and saw that he had somehow gotten much closer to me without my notice while I was lost in memory. Our faces were now inches apart. I pulled back sharply, surprised and confused, and was stopped when his hand grabbed my braid for a second time to keep me from retreating any further. I opened my mouth to ask him what he was doing and then closed it when he leaned in even closer. Alarm bells went off in my mind, but I didn't do anything to stop him. I actually leaned forward. I didn't know who closed the small distance; maybe both of us did.

And then we were kissing.

I was kissing Heero Yuy.

Oh my god, I was _kissing Heero Yuy_.

With a shocked gasp, I yanked backwards, my fingers flying up to touch my lips. The kiss had been short, shorter than I really wanted, and I ached to kiss him again. I'd never been kissed before, but it was everything that I had imagined and more until my stupid brain kicked in. I started to say something, but his fingers tightened and he pulled me forward using my braid as a leash. I made a mental note to get angry at him for that later, and then all thoughts died when he kissed me again.

What made me think of her, I didn't know. Maybe it was the fact that just a few minutes ago I had been comparing myself to her. But all of a sudden Relena's face flashed across my mind, and this time when I jerked back, I scooted out of reach. Heero just stared at me, a dazed look in his blue eyes. I was pretty sure it was the first time I'd ever been conscious enough to see the Perfect Soldier speechless and I couldn't even enjoy it. All I could think about was Relena and how hard I had been working to guide Heero towards her even though it wasn't what_ I_ wanted. I'd likely just fucked any chances he had with her, because if Relena found out I had kissed Heero 'furious' wouldn't even begin to describe her reaction. And if she found out that I had liked it... loved it... and wanted to do again, she'd probably try to kill us both.

So I did what I do best. I jumped to my feet and ran. Heero didn't try to stop me or call after me, so I assumed he was alright with watching me go. I raced into the house and nearly ran straight into Wufei, who was coming out with his sword in hand. It was the first time I'd seen him a while. He took a deep breath, probably getting ready to yell at me, and then stopped suddenly when he caught sight of my face. I must have looked pretty bad because his expression immediately changed to one of surprise mingled with sympathy. I didn't give him the chance to say anything, though. I pushed by him and hurried up the stairs, for once grateful that Quatre's house was big enough to give us each our own room.

I shut the door behind me and threw myself down on my bed, wondering what the hell I had been thinking. Okay, so I'd entertained the thought, once or twice, of kissing Heero, but I'd never actually believed it would come to fruition. He and Relena had always seemed like the perfect couple and whenever I started letting myself get carried away, I reminded myself that he would never be mine like that. Heero was, and always would be, off limits, no matter how much I might have wanted him.

But… he'd been the one to kiss me the second time. What did it mean?

I heard the door open and close and then the mattress sank beside me. I knew who it was without even having to look. "He kissed me," I said without waiting for him to ask. I couldn't keep the amazement from my voice "He kissed me, Q."

Quatre sighed. "And you ran away." It wasn't a question but I nodded anyway. "Why?"

"Are you kidding me?" I propped myself up on my elbow and looked at him incredulously. "He's… _Heero_, you know? There's no way someone like him could ever want to be with someone like _me_. Besides, he's got Relena."

"I don't know which part of your statement to tackle first." Anger flickered in his eyes. "But okay. What do you _mean_ someone like you? You're a good person, Duo."

"Oh, right." I should've known better than to say this in front of Quat, but it was like I couldn't stop myself. "I was born on L2. I'm nothing more than a street-rat. Maybe I'm a terrorist or a soldier at the moment, but that doesn't change what's underneath. Heero's not like that. He actually has a future ahead of him. When the war is over, he and Relena will get together and have a family, and I'll…" My voice trailed off as I imagined the future that was ahead of me if I survived. What could I do as the god of death? Regular humans couldn't be around me. I'd be alone wherever I went. Despair nearly overwhelmed me until Quat reached over and slapped me on the back of the head. I winced and glared at him.

"Honestly, sometimes I don't know whether to hug you or slap you!" he said, reaching over and pulling me against his chest. Apparently he'd decided on both. "Don't talk about yourself that way, Duo. It doesn't matter where you come from; it's about where you're going and what you make of yourself on the way there. You are _not_ a street-rat." His distaste of the word was evident. "Don't ever call yourself by that name again, understand?"

"But Quat - "

"No buts!" He cut me off before I could speak. "I don't want to hear it. I'm tired of seeing you and Heero dance around each other. This foolishness is driving me crazy."

My mouth was hanging open but I had no idea what to say next. I'd never heard Quatre speak so sharply and I wasn't sure how to respond. Part of me felt that there was no way he could understand. Quat was from one of the richest colonies and families, and he'd been the only son of thirty children, coddled and spoiled from the ground up. He didn't know what it was like to grow up the way I had. But another, smaller part of me was wondering if maybe he was right - maybe I _had_ done enough to leave that title behind me. And at that moment, I could almost see it: the kind of god that Quatre could be.

The longer I remained silent, the more his expression softened, until finally, he sighed and shook his head. "Besides, Heero's not in love with Relena. He doesn't even like her."

All thoughts of gods instantly slipped my mind. "W-what?"

"Heero hates Relena," he repeated patiently. "How could you ever think otherwise? He threatens to kill her every time he sees her."

"He threatens to kill _everyone_, including me," I pointed out, though something very cold inside of me had eased at his words. I was finally ready to admit to myself that I liked - okay, was probably in love with - Heero Yuy. I just hadn't wanted to think about it because I had always been so sure that he secretly liked Relena. There was just something about the way that he acted when they were together. Was it possible that I wasn't the only one who found her exceedingly annoying after all? "Are you sure?"

Quatre looked away in the direction of the door. He was silent for a moment before he turned back to me and smiled. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" he suggested, sliding off of the bed. I didn't understand what he meant until he walked across the room and opened the door to reveal Heero. I swallowed hard when I saw the look on his face; he didn't seem happy. Quat, the traitor, just nodded to him and left the room without even giving me a second glance, leaving the two of us alone.

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Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. I hope this chapter was worth the wait – it's one of my favourites so far. Enjoy!

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I stepped a little further into the room as Quatre brushed past to leave. He glanced at me as he walked by and I read the warning in his eyes. In return, I gave him a nearly unintelligible nod. Duo had rolled over to face the window as soon as Quatre left the bed, and as I reached back to close the door, I wondered how I should approach him. The kiss had probably surprised him as much as it had surprised me; I had not planned on it happening, but I hadn't been able to help myself. Normally I was not nearly so impulsive, but if I was being honest, the urge to kiss him had come over me and I'd followed through on it without giving a single thought to the possible consequences. It was completely unlike me, but when it came to Duo, nothing I did seemed to make any sense.

I moved towards the bed and contemplated him silently, wondering how he would respond should I choose to speak. I'd been listening at the door while he and Quatre were talking, and I didn't know what to ask him about first. It saddened me that he thought of himself the way he did, and I was angry with myself for ever making the problem worse. I'd never thought of him as worthless, or a 'street-rat' as he'd put it, but I knew there were plenty of times when I and the other pilots must have contributed to that when we acted like he couldn't be trusted as a pilot. We all saw him as the Joker so much that it was hard to realize that the things we said and did could still affect him deeply. I couldn't believe that he didn't see himself as worthy of me; as far as I was concerned it was the other way around and I wanted him to know that.

Yet at the same time, I was annoyed that he couldn't read me well enough to know how much I detested Relena and I wanted to make it clear that nothing was or would ever be going on between me and her. Had I not made it more than obvious that she drove me crazy? I tried to think back to all of the times when Duo had been with me and Relena came around. I was fairly certain that I had always been frank and told her to leave me alone. Apparently I needed to work on my rejections if both Duo _and _Relena took that to mean I was in love with her. The thought made me smirk, and then I sighed out loud as I sat down on the end of his bed and looked at him fondly. The baka.

"Duo, look at me," I requested, deliberately keeping my voice softer and non-threatening.

"No," he said flatly. "Get out, Heero. I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Too bad, because I'm not going anywhere. If you don't want to talk then you can listen." I fell silent for a minute, thinking about what I wanted to say and how I was going to say it. "Duo, I'm not in love with Relena. I don't have a crush on her and I certainly do not dream about a future with her after the war. I actually find her annoying and to be honest a future with her sounds like the worst and cruellest punishment that Oz could come up with." I was exaggerating slightly, but it was worth the small smile I saw on his face. "Furthermore, if I liked Relena even a little I wouldn't have kissed you."

He hunched his shoulders and shook his head, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. For the first time, I noticed that his fingers were tightly folded around his cross. That more than anything clued me into the fact that he probably wasn't going to be willing to listen to too much of what I had to say. I sighed and looked around the room for inspiration, wondering what I could to make him more willing to listen. And then my eyes lit upon the very object that would help. Smirking, I stood up and walked over to his dresser and picked up the carved wooden brush that he took everywhere with him. It felt nice and solid in my hand as I turned back around and held it up for him to see. Sure enough, his attention was now on me as his violet eyes darted from me to the brush, and I would have given my gun to have known what he was thinking at that moment.

"I'll brush your hair," I said, dispelling whatever was going through his mind. "I said that I would, remember?"

Duo continued to eye me for a moment before he shrugged. Suspicion still lingered in his eyes as he sat up and silently pulled the tie from the end of his braid. He started to unravel his hair, his fingers sorting through the braided mass with enough care to not cause any more tangles. I stepped back over to the bed and stopped him with a touch to his arm. He glanced up at me in confusion as I motioned for him to move forward, and although he frowned, he did as I had requested, scooting towards the middle of the bed and leaving enough room for me to sit behind him. I trailed my fingers slowly along the length of his braid before I picked up where he had left off.

His hair was swiftly becoming something of a fascination for me, though I didn't really understand why. When Relena first started coming around me, she had tried every attempt at seduction there was, including flipping her hair over her shoulder constantly. It had never really interested me, possibly because of the person it was attached to, and I couldn't imagine sitting on a bed with her and taking the time to brush it. Actually I couldn't imagine sitting on a bed with Relena, period.

I began brushing with long, steady strokes, immediately noticing that his hair was a lot less tangled than the last time I'd tended to it. Unsurprising, really, as I suspected that he kept it tied in a braid for that very reason, but it meant that it wouldn't take nearly as long to finish. I privately delighted in the way that the soft strands slipped through my fingers and so I ended up spending more time just running my fingers through it than I did brushing. If Duo noticed, he said nothing. He had his head tilted forward and every so often he would give a soft little sigh. I wondered if that meant he was enjoying it.

"Duo," I said softly, not wanting to break the tranquil mood that had fallen around us. "I don't even like Relena as a friend, okay? I want you to believe me when I say that because it's the truth. If I thought that I could kill her and not have to accept the consequences of what her death would mean for the future, I would. I would have _already _done so ages ago." I decided not to remind him that he was the one who had stopped me from doing exactly that back when we first met. "I want nothing more than for her to get over her silly little crush and give up on any idea of the two of us being together because it's never going to happen."

I paused, waiting to see if that had gotten through to him. When he_ still_ kept silent, I continued, "I'm sure she's a nice person when she's not being a stalker. But I'm not interested in someone who doesn't understand me and I don't think Relena does." That was pretty hypocritical considering_ I_ barely understood myself, but I forged on. "She doesn't know what it's like."

"But when you're around her, you seem happier," he said finally, sounding unusually subdued. I wished that I could see his face, but the way we were sitting prevented me from doing so. "Like the war doesn't matter so much."

I couldn't keep myself from snorting. "Are you kidding me? Baka, that's because of you not Relena. Sometimes I can't believe how much you've changed me since we met." I fell silent for a minute and focused on keeping my strokes calm and steady. My hand was shaking slightly, though I wasn't sure why. After a long moment, I took a deep breath and told him something that I've never told anyone else. "Relena Darlian reminds me that there's still hope for the future. When I'm around her, I can see the kind of future that we're fighting for and that gives me a reason to keep going into battle. But that doesn't mean I want her to _be_ my future. Seriously, Duo, you have it all wrong."

"And you're not just saying that because I'm here and she isn't?" he tossed over his shoulder, standing up unexpectedly. My hands fell away from his hair as he strode over to the window. I was mesmerized by the dance of the chestnut, blonde and auburn strands before he turned around to face me, and then my eyes settled on his face. His violet eyes proved to be equally captivating. "Seriously, Heero. I don't get you sometimes. Before this month, before I got sick, I thought you_ hated_ me. You always acted like you were only willing to just barely tolerate working with me because you had to for the sake of the war. The only person you were ever willing to be around when you didn't have to be was Relena. Of course I was going to draw the conclusion that you were in love with her."

"If Relena got sick, I wouldn't care about her," I pointed out, standing up as well. I was frustrated that he didn't seem to want to understand. "But I spent hours watching over you. When you were dying, I was... scared." I said the word very quietly, almost hoping he wouldn't hear. By his sharp intake of breath, he had. "I won't deny that sometimes I don't understand what I'm feeling, Duo. But I do know that I like you and I want to be around you. Even I can figure out that much."

He just stared at me for a long time and after a minute I sat back down on the bed and held the brush up again in silent invitation. After a moment's hesitation, he crossed the room and took his place on the bed in front of me. I started brushing again, working on the stray handful of tangles that had somehow appeared within the last five minutes, and stroked his hair absently with my free hand. The first time my fingers slipped through his hair and brushed against the skin of his neck, he shivered, and I paused, waiting to see if he would get angry. When nothing happened, I deliberately stroked the back of his neck again, noticing that his skin was just as soft as his hair.

"Hee-chan," he whispered, sounding quite breathless. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," I said honestly, separating his hair so that I could see as well as touch. He was wearing a t-shirt that was still a little too large on him, so it left a fair portion of his neck and the top of his back bare to my eyes. "Do you believe me about Relena?"

"... Sort if," he said after a long pause. "I think you're making a big mistake and that you don't know your feelings as well as you believe you do. I still think that someday you'll end up married to her. But I do believe that you_ think_ you're not in love with her."

I exhaled, frustrated, and started drawing random patterns onto his skin in an effort to keep myself from voicing my annoyance. Immediately, I noticed the difference in color. My hands had a natural golden hue that had only grown darker from spending time outside, but Duo had always remained pale. He never tanned but instead, if he spent enough time outside in direction sunlight he burned. It was something that frustrated him to no end as he never remembered to put on sunscreen. Considering that it wasn't necessary on a colony – and probably wouldn't have been available on L2 even if it was – I couldn't really blame him. I'd never bothered to tell him that I found the rosy flush his sunburned skin took on attractive, mostly because I wasn't even ready to admit it to myself at the time. Now I found myself wondering what my chances were of coaxing him outside the next day.

"Heero? What are you doing?"

"Wondering how I can convince you to stay outside with me tomorrow so that you'll get sunburned."

There was a pause and then Duo readjusted his position on the bed and turned around. Because I didn't bother to move my hands, it meant my fingers trailed over his collarbone and around to his throat as he stared at me in bewilderment. "_What_?" he said. "Heero, are you feeling alright?"

I smiled, amused in spite of myself, and kept my hand on his neck. He hadn't knocked it away and I was in no hurry to lose contact with him. Even more so than before, I could suddenly understand why he was always trying to drape himself over me. His chest was warm beneath my fingers, and if I moved my hand down just a little, I could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat. "I'm fine."

He didn't seem entirely convinced by that. "Are you sure? You're acting weird."

"Yes, Baka, I'm sure," I confirmed. I let my fingers slide up until I was cupping his cheek. He watched me warily, but when he didn't pull away, I leaned in and kissed him. His mouth was soft and warm beneath mine, pliant and non-reactant at first, like he was just waiting to see what I would do. I nibbled on his lower lip and then cautiously traced his lips with my tongue. I felt more than heard him gasp and took my chance, sliding my tongue into his mouth.

It was nothing at all like my days spent in training. Although I had been working with highly skilled teachers - and make no mistake they were very good at what they did - it had never meant anything beyond sexual exploration and I guess I'd figured it would always feel like that. But this time around I was highly aware of the fact that it was Duo I was kissing, and that made it seem all the more intense as our tongues came together and explored tentatively. After a few painfully short minutes I had to pull back because it was just too much. His eyes were wide and he looked speechless. I knew how he felt. All ability to speak seemed to have fled my mind and all I felt capable of was placing my forehead against his. Finally, I gathered myself enough to talk.

"In case that didn't prove it to you, _you're_ the one I want and that's not going to change," I said, licking my lips. His taste lingered and I realized I liked it. Abruptly, something shifted inside of me and I unconsciously tightened my grip on his shoulders. It was the same feeling that had come over me after Shinigami kissed me on the neck, only stronger. I couldn't really put a name on it, but it made me feel stronger and just… different. And _right_. I had never felt more like I was where I was supposed to be than I did right then.

Duo was staring at me with narrowed eyes and I could tell that he was thinking hard. His hand fell away from my shirt and just barely brushed against his cross in the process, giving me a hint as to what he was thinking about. He said quietly, "You can feel it right now, can't you? That presence inside of you… the god."

I blinked, genuinely astonished. "How did you know?" It made sense and I wondered why I hadn't associated that weird feeling with the whole god thing before.

"I can feel it, too. I felt it when you kissed me that time. It made Shinigami happy." Duo looked vaguely disturbed by this notion.

"And how did Duo feel about it?" I inquired, far more interested in that answer. Yes, it was fascinating to know that the god in me - provided Duo was right and there was one - was reacting to Shinigami and vice versa, but I had also just spent the past half an hour opening myself up to him and I was anxious to know what was going through his head. For all of my sexual experience, I had very little relationship experience, so I wasn't sure how to read the situation. I figured it was a good sign he hadn't punched me and stormed out, but beyond that I was clueless.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, a small smirk forming on his lips. "Are you going to have the same one-track attitude about this as you do about being a soldier?"

"Until I get a proper answer, yes," I replied, reaching out to wind a few strands of his hair around my index and middle fingers. At this rate I was never going to get over my fascination with his hair, but I was strangely okay with that. Duo was watching me and now he looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"I never would have figured you of all people would have a hair fetish," he teased.

"Just when it comes to you," I said, intrigued by the subtle pink flush that worked its way across his cheeks. Almost as good as the sunburn. "Duo…"

"Alright, alright." He ducked his head as best he could considering I was still holding onto his hair. "I like you, Heero," he mumbled finally. "If you want to be with me… then that's what I want too."

Something about the way he'd said that set off alarm bells in my mind, but before I could analyze it too closely, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around my neck, successfully displacing any and all thoughts from my mind. I placed my arms around his waist, closed my eyes, and got my first chance to bury my face into his silky hair when he was fully conscious and I could enjoy the feeling of his breath against my neck for no other reason than because it felt good. Actually, no; it felt completely _right_. And now that I knew what the presence inside me was, I could tell that it felt the same way.

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Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** So cute! Not as much in this chapter... darn the plot for the intrusion. Oh, well. Enjoy!

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I woke up in bed with Heero beside me. He was lying on his back, his breathing deep and heavy, and I was pressed up against him as tightly as possible with my head on his chest. His arm was locked around my shoulders so firmly that I couldn't tell if I'd squirmed closer on my own or if he'd dragged me there. I hadn't slept in the same bed with someone like that since before the orphanage burned the ground. It was a disconcerting way to wake up when you weren't used to it; only the fact that Shinigami had been completely calm and docile within me kept me from sliding a knife into Heero's ribs. Or trying to, anyway. I figured I had about a 50/50 chance of actually succeeding before Heero registered my movement and woke up to stop me.

I started to sit up and winced. Apparently I'd neglected to braid my hair after having it brushed last night and now some of it was pinned beneath Heero's arm and body. I couldn't help noticing that he also had several strands wound around the hand that was on his chest. I couldn't help smirking. Even though I'd only been teasing Heero when I made that comment about how he had a thing for my hair, I was beginning to wonder if that wasn't really true. He'd taken so long with brushing it last night that I must have fallen asleep. The last memory I had was of his fingers playing with my hair, occasionally sliding through to stroke the back of my neck. Every single touch had given me the shivers.

Okay, pause. Rewind. What the hell was I doing? I'd held myself off from Heero Yuy since the day we met. I did my best to treat him exactly like everyone else and ignore the fact that he made my heart skip a beat whenever he was too near. Never once had I ever allowed myself to even imagine that he might feel the same way. Why now? I wanted him so much it hurt, but I was hesitant to believe that anything could come of it. I stared down at his face, wondering if he had been honest with me. I could envision exactly what it would be like to be with him - not _all _good, but with just enough to make the bad moments worthwhile. But I found it hard to get over the idea of him and Relena no matter how much he had tried to convince me otherwise. It was like a bad meal that dogged you for days afterwards, except that this had been haunting me for months.

Someone knocked on the door and I jumped. I half expected Heero to leap up with his gun in hand, but he just continued sleeping. I watched him for a second longer, wondering at how safe he must have felt here with me to be so deeply asleep that he didn't react to an intrusion. It gave me the courage to start carefully working my hair out from underneath his body. The hardest part was prying it out from between his fingers; every time I worked a strand free, his hand would tighten on the rest. The person on the other side of the door knocked again and I whipped around to glare at the door.

"Just a minute!" I hissed.

"Duo?"

I jumped at the sound of Heero's voice and turned my head. He was watching me through confused, sleepy blue eyes that were barely open. I smiled down at him, my heart pounding fast, and said, "Hee-chan, let go of my hair, okay?"

He frowned in concentration, like I'd asked him a difficult question. "Why?"

"Because there's someone very impatient at the door and since this is my room, whoever it is clearly wants to speak to me," I said with exasperation. Even though I'd shared a room with Heero several times before, I'd never realized that he was so hard to wake up. No wonder he always made sure he was up before me. Gently, I reached down and pried his fingers away, then slipped off of the bed. He was out before I got to the door, and I shook my head, amused. I might have to wake up early more often if that's Heero always was. It was annoying but strangely cute.

I unlocked the door and pulled it open, expecting to see Quat checking up on me. Instead, much to my surprise, Wufei was waiting on the other side, his arms folded. He arched an eyebrow when he saw me and I blinked back, suddenly realizing that I'd left my hair down. I had to control the urge to slam the door. "What do you want?" I said, tilting my head back so that as much of my hair was out of sight as possible. It also kept him from seeing my bed and the fact that Heero was in it.

"I need to talk to you, Maxwell. Get dressed and meet me downstairs," he ordered. Before I could argue, he turned and strode away. I frowned at his back and closed the door before I looked back at Heero. He was still passed out, except that now he had rolled over onto my side and was curled up in the middle of the bed. I contemplated joining him but decided that if Wufei had actually sought me out, it had to be important.

I got dressed and braided my hair - last time I _ever_ slept with my hair down - and went downstairs. It was suspiciously quiet, with no one, not even Quatre or Trowa, around. Wufei was outside working on his morning exercises. I walked outside to join him and just stood watching for a couple of minutes. I'd never told him, but the level of grace and poise that Wufei possessed was something I was a little jealous of. His degree of control was visible in the slightest movement and I knew that took years. It was fascinating to watch. I thrust my hands in my pockets and leaned against the railing, a little disappointed when he opened his eyes and looked at me.

"That was faster than I expected," he observed.

"Sounded important," I said with a shrug. "Want me to go back upstairs and waste another ten minutes?" I grinned teasingly.

He rolled his eyes and rose from a crouch. "Winner told me about what you said."

I'd known it was inevitable, but I still winced. "'Fei - "

"Do you honestly believe that you are Shinigami in mortal form?" he cut me off and, amazingly, didn't mention the nickname.

I frowned and looked at him closely. There was none of the derision I'd been expecting, no scorn. Instead he seemed genuinely curious. Finally, I nodded and said, "I don't _think_ I am, I _know_. Didn't you see… with the scythe?" I gestured to my cross. I was almost positive that Wufei had been the one to put it on my pillow, though it was unlikely he'd ever admit it.

"Yes, I was there when we escaped." He hefted his katana and looked at the slender blade, running his finger over the sharp edge gently. "I watched."

I waited, but when nothing else seemed to be forthcoming, I couldn't resist saying, "Was that all you wanted to ask? Because if it was, I'm going back to bed."

"With Yuy?" There was a kind of half smirk on his face that I'd never seen Wufei wear before. My jaw dropped and I just stared at him for a couple of seconds, speechless. How the hell had he known? I'd purposely angled my body to hide the bed when I opened the door. He looked up at me while I was still struggling for words and shook his head, chuckling. "You and Yuy aren't that good at keeping secrets, Maxwell. And if you really want to keep things like that under the table then I suggest you don't inform Winner. You know what he's like."

I just barely kept myself from groaning. Quatre seemed to be under the impression that all five of us were a family and in his eyes that meant there should be as few secrets between us as possible. On the one hand, I could understand where he was coming from, and considering the whole "god thing", he probably really did have a valid point. But on the other hand, I wasn't even sure where I stood with Heero and it was mortifying to think that everyone else already knew about it. I hated having my actions monitored and I knew that everyone would now be doing just that. I didn't think Heero would be very happy about it, either. It was possible that our relationship had been doomed before it began.

"Yeah," I said grumpily, realizing he was waiting for me to say something. "I'll remember not to say anything to Quat next time." Except I'd probably have an easier time prying Relena away from Heero. Quatre had this way of making you _want_ to talk to him. It was incredibly annoying especially when you took his space heart into consideration. I hadn't even told him about Heero; he'd guessed.

"And besides, that's not the only thing I wanted to talk to you about, so Yuy will have to wait." All traces of amusement gone, Wufei looked back at me. His dark eyes were completely serious when he said, "You think we're all gods, don't you?"

There were _no secrets_ in this household, seriously. My hands groped for the end of my braid as I eyed his katana nervously and wondered if I should have thought to bring some sort of weapon with me. He didn't sound pleased and if he attacked me while I wasn't ready, I couldn't be certain that Shinigami wouldn't take over to protect me. I shifted backwards a step, ready to run just in case, and said, "Yes, I do. But who knows... I might be wrong." I attempted a weak laugh that sounded flat even to my ears. It wasn't a lie; it could be true, but I didn't think so.

"No, you're not," he echoed a moment later and there was so much confidence in his voice that a chill shot down my spine. I stopped backing away and stared at him.

"I'm not?" I echoed uncertainly.

Wufei shook his head and slid his katana back into the sheath. "During the past few days, I've been doing some thinking," he remarked, "and remembering some things. Times when I would do or say things that made me feel weird." He eyed me with the kind of warning look that told me that if I made a joke, he really would attack. I swallowed and kept silent. "It was like a pressure inside of me and it made me feel very powerful and strong. I could have won, if I had wanted to, but it would have been wrong."

Okay, _definitely_ a god. What he had described was so close to what I felt when Shinigami was trying to get free that I shivered. "You think it was the god inside of you trying to get free," I said weakly. That could be either very good or very bad. The god was trying to protect him - that was good. But if the god was as dangerous as Shinigami could be, then that was bad, possibly in an 'end of the world' kind of way. But I didn't know how you would find out. I had only discovered Shinigami by accident.

"Yes," he confirmed. "What do I do?"

It was so unusual for Wufei to ask a question like that that for a minute, I just stared at him. "What do you mean, what do you do?" I said finally.

"Should I be making more of an effort to release it?" he asked calmly. "There is one particular situation wherein what I believe to be the god always tries to rise to the surface. If I could incite another one of these incidences, maybe I would be closer to finding out what this presence is. I believe you told Yuy that you didn't know _what_ gods we were, after all. It would be beneficial for us to find out."

Had he been spying on us while Heero and I were in the hangar? No secrets in this house, indeed. "I agree that it would be helpful, but be careful, 'Fei. You saw what Shinigami did to all of those soldiers and most of them didn't even have any contact with the four of you." I could still remember the blinding rage that had flowed through Shinigami and into me at the thought of anyone hurting them. Shinigami would have happily killed every human on this Earth to protect them and I would have gladly let it happen. "If you got out of control, it could prove to be deadly, and I don't know how you would ever stop."

He arched an eyebrow. "Yuy certainly seemed to have an easy time controlling Shinigami."

I was _not_ blushing, damn it. Or at least I really hoped I wasn't, but judging by the slight smirk that had formed on his face, I suspected that my body was betraying me. "That's different," I said as loftily as possible. I was beginning to think that Shinigami and Heero's god had some kind of special connection. It was the only explanation for why Shinigami would react so favourably to his presence. I knew it was a good thing – at least Heero would be able to stop Shinigami if I ever lost control again – but I also knew we couldn't depend on the same thing happening for Quat, Tro and 'Fei. That kind of miscalculation could be deadly.

His smirk turned into a teasing smile. "Really?"

"Yes." I folded my arms and turned to head back into the house. Or at least, that was my intention. I must have spun around too fast because the world rushed by in a dizzying blur and I felt myself tilting. A strong hand caught my elbow and righted me before I could fall. Knowing that it was Wufei, I allowed him to guide me into the house and then into the kitchen. He shoved me down into a chair and I put my head down between my legs without waiting to be told, waiting for the world to stop spinning while Wufei stormed around.

"When was the last time you ate, Maxwell? You are beyond foolish sometimes," he was muttering as he strode over to the refridgerator and opened it. After a moment, he came back over to me and thrust an apple into my hands. "Your body is still recovering from your sickness. Every time you release your god, you probably use up more energy and reserves that you don't have," he said sharply. "You have to start taking better care of yourself or you're going to get us all killed. Now eat this. It will make you feel better."

I accepted the apple and ate silently. He was right. With every bite, the weird, dizzying feeling left and I could actually feel myself becoming more stable. "Thanks 'Fei," I mumbled.

"It's _Wufei_, Maxwell."

I smiled to myself, pleased to hear that hint of annoyance in his voice, and watched him work at the stove silently. It would have been the perfect opportunity to bring up something that had been on my mind for a while since it was just the two of us. Namely, the fact that all four of them had been captured and I hadn't. It seemed like too much of an oversight. Oz soldiers could be stupid, no one knew that better than us, but this time around their plan had actually been well thought out. They'd been prepared. Were it not for Shinigami, I would probably be alone right now. I repressed a shudder at the thought and finished my apple. Wufei had saved me, I knew, even before he'd realized it was a trap. I was almost certain that the mission he'd taken on himself had been meant for the two of us. It was probably why he'd gotten captured in the first place.

I could have asked him, but I didn't. I just stood up, tossed my apple core into the garbage, and walked over to the door of the room. "'Fei?"

There was a subtle pause, then, "Yes, Maxwell?"

"Thank you," I said softly, looking down at the floor, and then quickly slipped away.

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Please review!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** How is it that Heero's chapters always end up the fluffiest/smuttiest…? I think my Heero is repressed. Enjoy!

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The sound of a familiar beeping woke me out of a deep sleep. For a moment, I was actually disoriented, which had never happened to me before, but it only took me a few seconds to remember that I had fallen asleep in Duo's room the night before. He'd drifted off while I was brushing his hair, and I had put the brush aside and pushed him back on the bed. I'd had every intention of going back to my own room, but he'd latched onto my shirt and refused to let go, curling around me like an octopus so that every time I pried one of his limbs away another one grabbed on. Eventually I'd given up and lay down next to him, though I had only meant to stay long enough for him to fall deeply asleep so that I could slip away.

It was a new and puzzling experience for me to have enjoyed sleeping next to someone. I couldn't remember the last time that had happened. Normally when I was required to share a bed, I would stay awake all night. It was no big deal for me to go without sleep. J had explored my body's ability to go without sleep for days on end when I was a child. It was one of the first set of tests that we did and he repeated them frequently until I was able to go without sleep for far longer than the average human; it was a necessity for places like boarding schools when I wasn't rooming with one of the other pilots and I couldn't fully trust my roommate.

But with Duo beside me, I'd ended up with one of the best night's sleeps I'd ever had. I felt completely rested when I sat up. I was alone, of course, and the bed next to me was cool, indicating that Duo had been gone for some time. I got up and walked over to his laptop, which was the source of the beeping; he had a new message. It was the work of seconds to open it up and see that he had a new mission, one that was actually for both of us, so no doubt I had a similar message waiting for me on my laptop. We were to infiltrate a school and pose as students for two specific reasons: one, to destroy a base that was located in the town, and two, to investigate the principal of the school who was suspected of having important information. The e-mail concluded by saying that we would get more details later.

I sat back down on the bed and looked at the computer thoughtfully. Duo certainly seemed to be healthy enough for a mission. He'd recovered from his illness for the most part, though it hadn't escaped my notice that he still needed more sleep and got tired easily. Still, there was no real reason for either of us to reject the mission. I was hesitant to accept, though, for a couple of reasons. It would be our first mission since the escape and, judging from the state of the news every night that meant the two of us would have to be extremely careful. People would be on their toes concerning anything the least bit suspicious. That could be a problem; we would need to be able to do this without attracting attention, which lead me directly to the second (and bigger, as far as I was concerned) problem.

Relena. She always seemed to be able to find me when I was at a school and I was fully resigned to the fact that she would likely show up at this one. I wasn't sure_ how_ she managed to find me – she must have had some seriously talented hackers working for her – but that didn't really matter. What did matter was in spite of how many times I'd explained to her that her presence could get me killed, she didn't seem to want to understand. And considering what had been happening between me and Duo, I was even more reluctant to see her than before. Duo had been so uncertain, so convinced that there was more between Relena and me than I was letting on to him, that I wasn't sure how he would react. What was happening between us was still fragile and I couldn't help being worried that Relena's presence would ruin that.

True, most of the time I was able to blow her off without too much trouble, but even that could cause issues. Her name alone attracted attention – people were always curious to see what she was up to. But worse yet, to most people, Relena was a rich, beautiful and powerful girl who was obsessed with me, and they thought I was absolutely nuts for turning her down. No wonder Duo had questioned whether there was something going on between us. I sighed and rubbed my forehead, not looking forward to this mission in the least. I knew that there was no way for me to turn it down – not unless I wanted J well and truly pissed off at me – but it would have been so much easier if I could have known that Relena would just stay away for once.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there before the door opened and Duo walked in. He was munching on a pastry of some kind and holding a plate piled high with several more. Noticing that I was awake, he smiled at me, but his look quickly became one of worry. "What's wrong?" he asked, taking the pastry out of his mouth and setting it on the edge of the plate.

"Read for yourself." I rotated the laptop so that he could see the screen and stood up, walking over to the window so that I wouldn't have to watch his reaction. Down below, out in the yard, I caught sight of Trowa and Quatre playing with a medium-sized dog that had golden fur the same color as Quatre's hair. I watched as the dog bounded towards Quatre and tackled him to the ground. Trowa burst out laughing and even I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the sight.

"Hee-chan?"

I looked up, noticing that Duo had been watching my reflection in the glass. There was a thin line of worry between his eyes. I thought about scolding him for using that annoying nickname, but realized that, considering everything that had been happening between us, I didn't really have the right to do that anymore... and I didn't really want to, either. Though the nickname was annoying and made me twitch every time I heard it, I suspected that Duo liked using it more than he had let on. He was the only one who ever called me that, and, while it may have started as a way to tease me, at some point it had become something more. So I decided to let it drop and, gritting my teeth, moved on.

"What?" I asked instead, glancing back out the window. Quatre had gotten up and was trying to encourage the dog to pounce on Trowa in revenge. Judging by the amused look on Trowa's face and the way the dog started chasing Quatre around, it wasn't working.

"You're upset about this," he observed. I turned in time to see a frown crossing his face. He cast a doubtful look at the laptop. "Why? It seems like a routine mission to me."

"Are you kidding?" I said, folding my arms and wondering why he hadn't immediately come to the same conclusion that I had. "You know what's going to happen if we show up at a boarding school, Baka. We won't be there for more than a day or two before Relena will make an appearance and she'll act exactly the way she always does." Just the thought of it was enough to make me cringe. I couldn't stand the way she tagged along behind me in the halls, tried to hug me all the time, and just acted like there was something special going on between us. Did personal threats against her life mean nothing to that girl?

Duo sighed and picked up the pastry he'd been working on. "You don't know that for sure," he pointed out, tearing a small strip of dough away and popping it into his mouth. It left a smear of sauce on the corner of his mouth that commanded my attention. "Quat told me that she showed up here while I was sick and you guys told her to go away. Maybe she took the hint this time."

"And maybe the war is going to end tomorrow," I replied, my eyes glued to his mouth. "No, she'll be there just like she always is, and I know she's going to cause problems with the mission." And with us, I thought, though I didn't say that part out loud. I was worried about Duo's reaction to her but I didn't think he'd appreciate knowing that.

"Is that really why you're upset?" he asked. He was staring intently down at the pastry in his hands and although he was still pulling it apart, he hadn't eaten anymore of it. The rest of them had been abandoned on his nightstand. "Or are you worried that she might see something between us and get mad at you? Because we could act like nothing has changed, Heero, I wouldn't – "

I didn't give him the chance to finish his sentence. In about half a dozen long steps, I crossed the room and leaned down to lick the sauce off of his lips. He gave a strangled gasp that turned into a moan when I pulled him into a heated kiss without giving him the chance to protest. "Don't even start thinking that," I growled against his mouth. "Nothing would give me more pleasure than to shove you up against a wall and kiss you right in front of Relena. Maybe then she'd finally take a fucking hint."

"Heero, I – " Dup gasped and swallowed whatever else he was going to say when I kissed him again, this time shoving my tongue into his mouth to silence him. Eventually, his hands left the pastry altogether and I felt his fingers tentatively stroking my cheek as he gentled the kiss into something sweeter, though no less passionate. Our lips were just barely brushing against each other, soft kisses that were like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was overwhelming, and I could feel myself falling even though we were braced together on the bed. It was too much. I licked his lower lip and tugged on it in apology one last time before pulling away, fully enjoying the sight of his darkened violet eyes. He looked even more beautiful when he was aroused. It was a sight I wanted to see a lot more of.

"Baka," I rasped, realizing that my own voice had gotten significantly lower and huskier than before I'd kissed him. All I wanted to do was kiss him again and to keep kissing him until the war and Relena all completely faded away. Without even noticing, I'd woven the end of his braid around my right hand and wrapped my left arm possessively around his waist. We were so close, but the distance between us still seemed like too much.

Duo must have agreed, because he shook his head and leaned forward, his hands pulling me down into another slow, sweet kiss. He took control this time, languidly mapping out every detail of my mouth with a care and precision that I hadn't known he could muster. His tongue caressed mine, sending fizzing tingles of pleasure running through my body. Every touch was careful, precise, and designed to make me want to turn it into something so much more. I restrained myself, knowing that neither of us was ready for that, and gave as best that I could, lapping at his lips and sliding my tongue across his until we were both breathless. He made a little sound that could have been a whimper, though he would deny it until his dying day, and I groaned in response.

He really had no idea, did he? Somehow he had no fucking clue what he did to me. No one else could make me want to forget about the war but him. I had been the Perfect Soldier in every way, not willing to bend, break or forget until I met him. He'd turned my world upside down and he didn't even know it. I took a deep breath and, flattening my hand against his back, slowly slipped my fingers underneath the hem of his shirt. I swallowed his gasp by kissing him again even as I relished the feel of the smooth, soft skin. I'd never been in such intimate proximity to anyone when it didn't involve training and I knew without a doubt that there was no one I would ever want to be this close to but Duo. If he could have known how he made me feel, he would have understood that Relena was not his rival. She wasn't even close. No one was.

Duo pulled back, breathing hard, and rested his forehead against mine. His violet eyes were glazed and he was smiling in a way that really made me wish that I dared go a few steps further. His hands had trailed up into my hair while we were kissing and now he tugged gently, which only served to send more of that filmy pleasure rushing down my spine. I must have made some sound of enjoyment because he laughed and kissed the tip of my nose, seemingly pleased with my response. I smiled back at him, unable to keep from thinking that sometimes he was so damned adorable – though I'd lose an arm if I ever told him that.

"God," he muttered, his cheeks heavily flushed. "Heero, I..."

"I don't _want_ to hide this from Relena," I told him, drawing abstract patterns on the small of his back. He sucked in a breath sharply and his eyes fluttered shut. I hoped that he was listening but the warmth of his skin was so addicting that I couldn't make myself stop even though I knew I should. "I'm not ashamed of you, Baka, if that's what you were thinking. I don't want to act like you're a secret and I don't care if Relena knows about it." In fact, I'd very much prefer if she did. Nothing else had gotten through to her, but I was holding out hope that not even Relena could ignore me making out with someone else.

"Hee-chan..." Duo looked at me with confusion in his eyes and shook his head. "I never thought that you would... But what if she gets angry with you? Won't that attract even _more_ attention?"

I thought about that as my hand trailed up, caressing the skin of his shoulder blades. He arched into the touch and I felt my heart skip a beat in response. Technically, he was right. I didn't care about Relena or about the reaction she might have. But for the sake of the mission, the two of us would likely have to pretend that we didn't know each other in order to fly under the radar. At the most, we could pretend to make friends. Though homosexuality was gradually becoming accepted in the world, there were still people who did not take to it lightly – and if we were discovered then it would no doubt draw a lot of unwanted attention, especially if we were the 'new students'.

But I didn't know if I could keep myself away from Duo for however long the mission would take, and I did _not_ want him getting the wrong idea about why we were keeping things quiet. Now that I knew what it was like to fall asleep next to him, to hold him in my arms, to taste him, I never wanted to stop. I couldn't imagine keeping myself away from him for the next however many days. Normally I had no problems keeping myself under control, but when it came to Duo, it was like all of my control jumped out the window. Even now, it was taking more focus than it should have to concentrate on the situation and not just kiss him again and again until neither of even remembered what a mission was. What had he done to me?

"Alright. If Relena shows up, then we'll deal with her at that time," I said at last, brushing my lips over the skin on his cheek. I trailed kisses down to his neck, feeling his pulse flutter beneath my lips. "In the meantime, for the sake of the mission, the two of us will have to pretend that this has never happened. Out in public, anyway."

His hands had tightened on my hair, holding my lips against his neck. I felt him shiver as he said, "And behind closed doors?"

I smirked as I nipped gently at the skin on his collarbone. I wanted to make a mark there that would linger for days, but considering that most of his clothing still hung off of his frame, I knew that was probably a bad idea. It would be a dead giveaway for him to show up at the school with bites and bruises on his collarbone, no matter how beautiful he'd look. "I'll just have to make sure that the two of us are assigned to share the same room."

Duo considered that for about half a second. His cheeks turned pink but a small smile worked its way across his lips. "I guess I can live with that," he said, pulling me away from his neck and back to his lips.

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Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Everyone wants to know about the gods and have some action with smut. I tried to put a little of everything in this chapter. Enjoy!

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I've never been as close to anyone as I was to Heero Yuy that morning. Even now, though hours had passed, I swore that I could still feel the touch of his hands on my back as they caressed my skin and made me think things that would have had Sister Helen forcing me to clean the whole church if she knew. My lips were still tingling and I felt hot all over whenever Heero so much as glanced in my direction. Even the cold shower that I'd taken after we were finished hadn't helped. Unsurprisingly, I'd been avoiding Heero since then. I wasn't ready to talk about what had happened, much less what had led to it... namely, Relena Darlian.

Just thinking her name left a bad taste in my mouth. Even though I'd tried to tell Heero that I didn't mind hiding what was happening between us, that wasn't the complete truth. For the most part, I really_ didn't_ mind. I knew what people could be like when they were confronted with something that didn't fit into their social norms. I'd been tormented for my appearance more than a few times when I was a kid, so that was nothing new. Our relationship would draw unwanted attention. I got that. What was bothering me was that it meant I would have to watch Relena hang all over Heero and knowing that I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Yes, Heero had said that he wanted to kiss me in front of her, but I doubted that would actually happen if she showed up.

Heero could deny it all he liked but Relena had some kind of hold on him. I'd watched the two of them interact enough to know that. She might have been a stalker, but there was no doubt in my mind that Relena was genuinely in love with Heero, and I knew that on some level he couldn't help responding to that. Of course, I liked him a lot too, but I didn't know if he considered it to be the same thing. Relena was just _different _and I was resigned to the fact that she was going to take Heero away from me at some point. Was it better to try and fight against that or should I just accept that it was going to happen and back off when the time came?

Those thoughts were still buzzing around in my mind by the time we all sat down to dinner that night. It was our last meal before Heero and I left for our mission and Quat had insisted that the five of us eat together. I wasn't crazy about the idea but I couldn't see a way to get out of it without upsetting Q, and since I didn't know how long it would be before I saw him again, I found myself sitting at the table across from him with Heero on one side and Wufei on the other. Too late I realized that I should have sat at an angle to him instead of right across, but by that point it was too late.

Quat was burning with curiosity; I could see it in his eyes. It was evident in the way that he kept glancing from me to Heero and back again. He knew we'd talked last night and he wanted to know what the end result was. I tried to keep as smooth a face as possible to avoid giving away any hints and concentrated on the food that Trowa had cooked. It was some kind of chicken and pasta with a sauce, and though it was good, between Heero being so close and Quatre analyzing at my every move, I was too distracted to enjoy it. I sighed to myself as I stared down at my plate, wondering if this was the best of life that I had to look forward to. The thought didn't fill me with confidence.

"When will you leave for your mission?" Quat asked finally.

"5:00AM," Heero replied, placing his fork down on his empty plate. I noticed with surprise that the others were done eating too, and that my plate was the only one that was still mostly full. I must have been more lost in thought than I'd realized. Wufei was giving me a look and I rolled my eyes but obligingly lifted a bite to my lips. I knew he was just trying to make sure I didn't pass out again but I didn't appreciate being mothered.

"Have you figured out how you'll approach the base?" Tro asked.

"We'll have to wait and see. We weren't given very many details about it." Heero wasn't looking in my direction, so I was startled to feel a foot twining around my ankle and sliding playfully up my calf. I almost dropped my fork when it dawned on me that Heero Yuy was trying to play footsie. It's a good thing I wasn't eating anything or I might have choked. I glanced at him quickly, but as far anyone could see he was completely focused on discussing what little he knew about the base with Wufei and Trowa. Only Quatre seemed to know that anything was up, because he was staring at me with a knowing sparkle in his eyes.

"Duo, why don't you help me with dessert? Trowa and I have something special planned since it's the last night we'll see each other for a while," he said, getting to his feet.

Shit. The fact that he hadn't asked the_ actual_ cook in the house to help was a dead giveaway that if I went into the kitchen with him, I'd be sorry. I thought fast and couldn't come up with a better excuse than… "I'm not done yet," I said weakly, waving my hand to indicate my plate.

"If you haven't eaten it yet, you're not going to," he pointed out. "You've been picking at it for the past hour. I doubt it would taste any good by now."

Okay, he had a point. The sauce had congealed into a slightly disgusting mess at the bottom of the plate, leaving the chicken dry and tasteless and the noodles stuck together in a soggy clump. I'd certainly eaten worse on the streets, but that didn't mean it was something I was interested in consuming. Reluctantly, I disentangled my foot from around Heero's and stood up, grabbing his plate and Wufei's and stacking them on top of mine. Heero's blue eyes were pinned to my face, no doubt trying to figure out what I was thinking. I could feel them burning a hole in my back the whole way into the kitchen. If this relationship thing meant he was going to be constantly trying to get into my head, I was going to be re-thinking it sooner than I thought.

"Alright, spill," Quatre said the second my body crossed the doorway. He'd set his and Trowa's plates down on the counter and now he grabbed the ones I held, leaving me with nothing to hide behind. "What's going on between you and Heero? I can feel the tension rolling off of you guys in a wave." His eyes narrowed slightly. "But you're nervous, too, in a way that Heero isn't."

I considered making a break for it since I was closer to the door than he was and decided against it only because I knew he'd track me down later. "Does Trowa ever get sick of having you use your space heart against him?" I asked mildly.

He rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "I don't need my space heart to know that things have changed between you, or to know that you're more anxious about it than Heero is. It's written all over your face."

I leaned back against the counter, figuring he probably had a point. "Alright, you win. We might have kissed once or twice." Or twenty, but I didn't think he really needed to know the full details of what had gone on that morning.

Quat frowned. "You don't sound very happy about that," he pointed out. "Are you worried about what's going to happen next?"

"Heero's worried that Relena is going to show up at the school," I mumbled, scuffing my foot against the ground and feeling increasingly uncomfortable. I didn't mind talking to Q but I wasn't really used to_ this_ kind of talking - the one where you were supposed to bare your every thought. I had to give it to him, though; as far as listeners went, Quatre was one of the best. He moved over so he was leaning against the counter beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Absently, I checked to make sure that I was still a little taller than he was. It was comforting to know that at least _some_ things hadn't changed.

"And you?" he asked, looking out at the kitchen instead of at me. "What do you think about Relena being there with you two?"

"It will compromise the mission," I said, relieved that he wasn't staring at me anymore. "Relena attracts attention wherever she goes. It's bad enough that Heero and I will be the new students, but she makes people pay extra attention to him when she gets clingy."

His mouth twitched and if I didn't know better, I'd have thought he was fighting back a smile. "Is that the only reason?"

I hated that he knew me so well. "No."

"Duo, Relena is not going to steal Heero away from you."

I froze, caught off guard. I'd been expecting him to try to pry it out of me, not for him to just say it out of the blue, and for a few seconds my mind went completely blank. "That's why Heero said," I muttered finally. It was the only thing I could think of to say.

"But you don't believe him," Quat finished, heaving a sigh. "Why not?"

"You don't get it, Q," I blurted out. "I know you think it's just me being stupid but it's not. I've seen the way Relena looks at Heero. It's like Heero is her whole world. How could Heero not want her? I just..." I stopped myself. The next thing to come out of my mouth would have been that I had nothing to offer Heero when compared to Relena. I had no past and no future, while she had everything… and what she didn't have, she had the money to buy. It made no sense that Heero would want me instead of her, but I had the feeling that Quatre would not take kindly to my saying as much, considering the way he'd freaked out on me the last time I'd called myself a street-rat. One glance at him out of the corner of my eyes told me I'd been right. He was glaring at me. Apparently he'd been able to guess what was going through my mind.

"I think _you're_ the one who doesn't get it," he told me, his hand tightening on my shoulder. "Relena has the potential to be a nice girl when she wants to be, and yes it's true that she has money and prestige in spades, but that's not what Heero wants. He wants someone who has seen the worst that the world has to offer and can still smile or laugh, someone who knows exactly what Heero has done and truly understands, someone who can remain cheerful even when life has done its best to break his spirit. He wants _you_, Duo, and I don't need my space heart to tell me that. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you."

His words sent a chill down my spine and I felt my heartbeat picking up as my throat tightened, preventing me from saying anything in response… not that I would have known what I was supposed to say even if I could have. I'd never been that important to anyone and I didn't know what to do with that information. Quatre must have sensed that he'd spooked me because he sighed and edged a little closer until our sides were pressed together. The warmth of his body was enough to make me relax a little, though I still remained mostly tense. He started rubbing my shoulder, pressing his fingers deeply into the muscle.

"There's nothing wrong with being in love, Duo," he said gently. "Heero genuinely cares about you and I know you feel the same way. Would it be so wrong for you to see what happens between the two of you? Forget about Relena and what she does or doesn't mean to Heero. I know you won't believe me no matter how many times I tell you the truth and I think the only way you _will _believe it is if you see for yourself. Give it some time and for now, just focus on you and Heero. Can you do that?"

I nodded and had to swallow a few times before I could speak. "Yes, I'll try." I wasn't sure how to tell him that I was scared of getting in too deep, so I said nothing. Shinigami wasn't the only one who liked having Heero around; I didn't know what I would do if Relena took him away after I let myself fall, but I tried to push it out of my mind. Quatre had a point, after all. I had no idea what the future would bring. Maybe I would be lucky and Relena would be too busy to stalk Heero this time.

Quatre just stared at me for a couple of minutes, but apparently he decided he wasn't going to get anything else, because he nodded and after one more squeeze, his arm dropped away. "Come on, then. You're going to help me make hot fudge sundaes and then you're going to sweet talk Heero into eating one."

I fought back a grin. "I'm not sure Heero Yuy can be sweet talked into anything," I pointed out as he opened up the freezer. I took the carton of ice cream he thrust at me, hoping that my excitement didn't show. It wasn't very often that any of us had the chance to eat treats like ice cream. Unless we were fortunate enough to get a large city where we wouldn't be noticed, we usually existed on rations or whatever cheap but practical things that convenience stores had to offer. My stomach growled in anticipation as I got five bowls down from the cupboard.

By the time we were finished, each bowl had been generously rounded with four scoops of vanilla ice cream that had been drowned in hot fudge heated in the microwave. Quat found nuts and cherries in one of the cupboards and he sprinkled both on generously. I wasn't sure which I enjoyed more, the sight of the sundae or the looks on the faces of the other three pilots when we walked into the dining room. Trowa just shook his head and smiled fondly, Wufei's eyes grew about three sizes, and Heero just rolled his eyes. I smirked and set his bowl down in front of him before sliding back down in my chair. Now that the whole 'talk' with Q was out of the way, I found that I was starving.

"You've got to be kidding," said Wufei, poking the mountain with his spoon. The melting ice cream caved in, sending a fountain of hot fudge all over the back of his hand. Hs nose actually wrinkled slightly and he used a napkin to wipe it off. What a waste!

"It's just for fun, Wufei," Quatre said, taking a huge bite of the sundae. His eyes closed in bliss and I noticed Trowa staring at him with fascination.

"Yeah, it's not like one little bowl is going to kill you," I added, using my spoon to scrape up a particularly large pile of hot fudge. I popped it into my mouth and felt my taste buds vibrate with pleasure as the sugar hit. I shivered, barely holding back a groan, and caught sight of Heero staring at me with a small smile and darkened eyes. I reminded myself of what Quatre had said and instead of looking away, I held his gaze as I slowly picked up one of my cherries and curled my tongue around it, cleaning the plump fruit of any trace of fudge before I closed my lips around it. He swallowed hard as I chewed and I felt a private thrill.

"Now I have to watch all of you?" Wufei muttered, shaking his head. There was a small smile playing about his lips when I flushed and glanced at him, and to my surprise he didn't seem angry - more amused.

"It's good for you," Quat said lightly. "Might help you move on."

Wufei looked up, shock written across his face, but before he had the chance to say anything the door burst open and a puppy ran in, barking happily. It ran straight over to Trowa and put its messy paws up on his knee. I noticed that there was a dark blue leash trailing behind it, and sure enough, a few minutes later a young girl dressed in a maid's uniform rushed in. She didn't look in our direction, but instantly knelt and grabbed the leash, tugging on it in frustration. There was mud all over her hands and she didn't seem to be having much luck in pulling the dog away. Trowa finally leaned down and picked the puppy up, balancing it easily on his knees, while Quatre got up and spoke to the girl quietly.

"But Quatre-sama," she began.

"I told you it's fine."

The girl frowned but left the room, wiping her hands on her apron. Quatre turned back and rested a hand on the puppy's head. "Kin, you little devil," he scolded, smiling warmly. "You're not supposed to be giving the others a hard time."

"Is he yours, Winner?" Heero asked.

"He belongs to one of my sisters. Her dog recently had pups and Kin is one of the few that she hasn't found a home for yet." Almost absently, he stroked the dog's head, and I could tell how much he yearned for the dog to be his. Of course, none of us could own animals considering what we did, but I could understand his desire. The puppy was definitely adorable and affectionate, too, judging by the way he was licking Trowa's face.

"He's so cute," I said, dipping my finger in ice cream and holding it out. A warm, wet tongue washed my whole hand and I laughed before reaching out to rub his ears. He nuzzled my hand for a moment, panting contentedly.

Then he changed. Almost like someone had flipped a switch, the dog's body went tense and he growled low under his breath. I pulled my hand away as Trowa's head shot up and he glanced at the dog intently before turning to face the window. "Something's coming."

Just like that, the lights went out and the wall exploded.

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Please review!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** I have mixed emotions about this chapter. It was harder than I anticipated writing it and I can only hope that what I was trying to do comes across clearly to everyone. Enjoy.

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Smoke billowed through the kitchen, making it nearly impossible to see. I shot to my feet, my hand reaching instinctively for a gun that I wasn't carrying. Someone stumbled into me, knocking both of us off balance, and I groped around blindly before my hand found an arm. From the feel of the skin and muscles under my arm, I guessed that it was one of the other pilots. Whoever it was grabbed my wrist and pulled me along. I followed willingly, swearing softly under my breath when I tripped over something and nearly fell, and ended up staggering outside into cool, sweet air. I'd inhaled so much smoke that my lungs actually ached when I took a deep breath. The person leading me kept going until we were under the cover of the trees.

My eyes were stinging and tearing up, but I could see well enough to tell that it was Trowa who was beside me. He was bent over coughing harshly and the dog was bouncing around his feet whimpering, though it seemed to know enough to not bark and risk giving away our position. I rubbed my throat, keenly aware that whoever had caused the explosion was likely still around, and twisted to look back at the house and hole that had been blown in the side of it. A good portion of the whole back wall was crumbling. There was no one around the entrance, but that didn't mean someone hadn't been lying in wait. The fact that no one had grabbed or shot at us as we emerged made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Something wasn't right.

"Barton, you okay?" I asked, grimacing. My voice had been damaged by the smoke and it came out sounding rough and raspy.

"I'm fine," he muttered, straightening up and grabbing one of the trees for support. There was a cut above his right eye that was still bleeding sluggishly. I could tell that it was probably going to require stitches at some point, but for the time being, it wasn't life threatening and we had more important things to worry about.

"Do you have your gun?" I mentally cursed myself for leaving mine up in my room. It hadn't even occurred to me to bring it down to the table.

Trowa shook his head. "It's up in my bedroom," he informed me. "Quatre showed me several alternative ways in and out of the house. Do you think it's worth a try?"

I considered our options. We had no idea where Wufei, Quatre and Duo were. My stomach twisted at the thought that Duo could be in danger but I forced myself to push that aside and concentrate on what was more important. It was likely that there were already intruders inside of the house, which didn't seem to be structurally sound anymore. Going back in was dangerous since we could end up trapped in more than one way, but so was walking through the woods without protection. If we could get to our weapons I'd feel a lot better about our position.

"Let's go," I said with a nod. Trowa knelt and spoke to the dog quietly. It whined and looked up at him with begging eyes, but obediently sat when he gave it a look. Its tail thumped the ground as we started walking in the direction that would take us towards the front of the house. I followed him as silently as possible, but I'd never be as quiet in the woods as Trowa was. He put every last bit of stealth and grace to good use, sliding amongst the trees so effortlessly that you'd have sworn he was some kind of mythical forest creature. With his brown hair and green eyes, he even looked the part. It took me a minute to realize what was actually going through my mind and I promptly shook my head hard, wondering just how much of the smoke I had inhaled; probably more than was safe if I was thinking things like that.

After about ten minutes of walking, Trowa stopped and started searching the ground while I stood back and kept watch. It was hard to see in the increasing gloom, but eventually he found what he was looking for. He crouched down and dug his fingers into the grass until he was able to pull up something I never would have known was there: a trap door. It swung open easily, indicating that it had been used recently. I suspected that servants in the house might have escaped through the tunnel below when the explosion went off.

"There're two exits to this passage," Trowa stated softly, "and two entrances. One leads to the basement and the other goes to a first floor bathroom that's located in the right corner of the house. It's hardly ever used. This is the first exit, and the other one continues that way, under the river, and comes out about a mile down the hill." As he spoke, he turned to face me and held his hands up. I grabbed his wrists and swung him down into the passage, and then followed once he'd moved out of the way, pulling the door shut as I did. It was brighter down there than I'd anticipated and I saw that someone had strung electronic lights along the dirt walls. The tunnel continued for further than the eye could see in both directions. Fresh footsteps on the ground coming from the left and heading right told me my guess about the servants had been correct.

"That way?" I asked, not waiting for his nod to set out to the left. We were cautious, looking around corners before we moved on and listening carefully for any sounds that would indicate that we weren't alone. Within about five minutes, we came to the first exit. It was just a little door built into the side of the tunnel, and if I hadn't been looking for it, I wouldn't have even noticed that it existed. The ground in front of it was tamped down with dozens of footprints, so we kept going.

By that point, we were walking up a gentle incline that got steep pretty fast. There were no stairs, but at some point in the future it was evident that someone had plans to install them. The door to the bathroom was designed like the one in the forest, lifting up horizontally. Since I was stronger, I was the one who stepped forward and shoved it up. It took considerable strength, made difficult by the fact that I couldn't get a solid grip with my feet, and I knew no one had escaped this way; this door hadn't been used in years, proven when it finally moved with a grudging creak that made me wince and Trowa swear softly. We'd as good as given away our position to anyone who was listening, so I moved up a little and looked out. No one was in sight.

"Come on," I said over my shoulder, digging my feet further into the hill in order to get enough traction to push the door open fully. We had emerged into what appeared to be a large bathroom with a walk-in linen closet, which is where the tunnel came out. I crawled out and stood up, wondering what the chances were that anyone would hide weapons in a linen closet. I didn't like how unusually silent the house was; it made me feel even more strongly than before that something was off.

A strangled noise behind me told me I was right. I spun around and realized that a man must have come up behind Trowa and slipped an arm around his neck. That was the sound I'd heard. Trowa's hands pulled uselessly at the man's muscled arm, and I could tell by the pallor of his cheeks that he was losing air quickly. He'd be unconscious within a matter of minutes; the grip was designed to knock him out slowly. I've never wished for a gun more. If I tried to get any closer, the man could easily snap Trowa's neck, and, judging by the taunting smirk on his face, he knew it.

"Get down on the floor," he commanded. "Or I'll kill your friend."

I did as ordered, lowering myself to my knees while continuing to stare at them both and thinking furiously in an effort to find a way out of this. If I didn't act, he would kill Trowa and then try to kill me. I could just walk away – it was what I had been trained to do – but what kept me from doing so was the thought of what would happen if Trowa were killed. He was a good man, someone that I had come to realize that I could depend on. It surprised me to realize that I would miss him if he were killed. Quatre would be devastated, possibly to the point where he wouldn't be able to fight anymore. Even Duo and Wufei would be upset. I felt my hands clench into fists as that strange feeling began to pulse inside of me. Only unlike before, when Duo was around, it didn't feel calm, content or happy. It was enraged.

At first I fought against the presence, because I remembered what Duo had said about gods being the parts of us that the human psyche couldn't handle and the cold fury in Shinigami's face as he broke that soldier's neck. But as the seconds ticked by and Trowa's legs eventually began to go limp, I let go. Dizziness flooded through me and I suddenly felt disconnected, like someone else was in control. But at the same time, I could still hear and see what was going on, feel the overwhelming rage and confidence that the presence brought with it, even feel the sensation of my mouth stretching into a cruel grin; I was _very_ aware of everything in the room, from the way that the man was sweating to the weak furrows that Trowa was trying to dig into his skin. It was power and invincibility all at once.

"What are you doing?" the man barked when I stood up. He looked alarmed and for the first time, he pulled out a gun. I recognized it instantly. Cold fury flooded through me and this time I didn't bother trying to hold it back. Instead I encouraged it: fully enjoying the way that it made the man took an instinctive step back. There was a difference between us that I understood for the first time; he feared the death that was my partner.

"Whatever I want," I replied. My voice didn't even sound like mine, yet at the same time, I had the sense that all this time I'd been hearing the wrong voice when I spoke. Like this was _supposed_ to be my voice and I just hadn't known it before. I couldn't control the words coming out; I could only listen. "Put my brother down and there is a small chance I will allow you to walk out of here alive."

"You… you don't scare me!"

It was almost amusing to see the way that he was trying to maintain his façade, as it was clear that he was just beginning to realize that he was in over his head. I knew then that we weren't dealing with Oz soldiers, because these people who had no idea who they were attacking. Interesting. My eyes narrowed and whatever he saw in my face made him flinch. He held up the gun and pointed it at me, though it shook pathetically in his grip. My instinct was to freeze, but the force that was in control was completely unfazed by the fact that I was being threatened by Duo's gun.

"That's good to know. Let's see if I _can_ scare you." My body moved at a speed that should have been impossible. One second I was across the room and the next I had delivered a solid punch to his right cheek. He crumpled to the floor, releasing Trowa, who would have followed had I not reached out and grabbed him around the waist. He was only semi-conscious by that point and I set him down gently to recover before I turned back to the man. Anger mingled with disgust when I looked down at him. My hands curled around his collar and wrenched it tightly, and a distant flash of satisfaction went through me when he sputtered and struggled to breathe.

"Scared yet?" I asked mockingly, realizing that at some point I'd taken Duo's gun from him. I only needed one hand to restrain him, so I used the other to press the gun to his cheek and draw it down slowly. He thrashed, trying to get away from the cold metal, but no mortal could have broken my hold. It would have taken another god, and fortunately, the only other god in the room had no interest in helping this insignificant human.

"P-Please," he rasped. "I-I… c-can't… b-b-breathe…"

"Good. Listen closely." My hand tilted his head, forcing him to look deeply into my eyes. The presence inside of me pulsed: growing stronger for every second he continued to meet my gaze. His eyes began to glaze over; his mind was like an open book to me, disturbing and disgusting in equal parts but incredibly easy to manipulate and read. I knew without a doubt that he would have enjoyed killing us, would have caught up to the people that had taken Duo and Quatre and asked for some time to have 'fun'. The thought filled all of me with blind rage.

"S-stop! Have mercy!"

"Mercy is a foreign concept to the god of war, particularly towards those who have taken my brother and my lover." The words tumbled out of my mouth and I couldn't stop them. "I could kill you where you stand, but I think you could be useful as a distraction instead. You're going to go downstairs and attack your partners until they strike you down, giving us time to escape."

He shook his head. "I won't!"

"Yes, you will." I didn't know what happened next, but my vision turned red for a split second and the force - the god - grew so powerful that it made me feel faint and weak. I hung in limbo for a long moment, dazed and confused, and was abruptly thrust back into the world to find myself sitting on the floor beside Trowa. The god had retreated, leaving me in full control again. I could still feel it though, even more so than I had before, or maybe I was just more aware of it now that I knew the power so intimately.

The man was staring off into space, eyes unfocused. Suddenly, he shook his head and I saw murderous rage painted across his face. He pulled another gun, one I didn't recognize, out of his pocket and, without giving Trowa and me a second look, headed out of the bathroom with a furious yell. Minutes later, I heard surprised shouting followed by the distinct sound of gunfire. He was doing as he had been commanded: waging war against the people who had once been his teammates. I shuddered and realized that I was still holding Duo's gun. It was cushioned in my hand like it belonged there.

"Heero?" a hoarse voice whispered next to me.

I turned and looked down at Trowa, wondering if he'd seen all that. Was that how Duo felt when Shinigami took over? "You okay?" I asked.

"I'll be fine," Trowa said, which meant that he wasn't. I could see the deep red ring around his neck that would likely darken into a stunning bruise within a few hours time, and his breathing was still strained and labored. "Was that… what did you do?"

"I don't know," I said honestly, looking down at my hands. It had been so strange to not be in control. I'd never had that happen to me before. It should have been a concern, but somehow it wasn't. When that power rose up inside of me, I'd known instinctively that things would turn out to be alright. All of my fear for both me and Trowa had disappeared. "I think that maybe Duo was right about us."

Trowa closed his eyes. "And he missed it. He'll be crushed."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Trowa looked up at me and chuckled as well, though after a minute or two, he winced and moved his hand to his throat. "Come on," I said, getting to my feet. I shoved Duo's gun into the waistband of my shorts and took his hand to pull him up. "We should be able to get out of here while they're distracted with that idiot."

"And what then?" He leaned against me, still shaky, and I found that I didn't mind.

"I think we might have to stage a rescue mission." It was supposed to be a foreign concept. As Gundam Pilots, we were supposed to be ready to die at any time for the sake of the mission, and the rest of us weren't supposed to concern ourselves with trying to help. We weren't supposed to get so attached. Of course, being that you have to break the rules to be a Gundam Pilot in the first place, I couldn't imagine why the doctors thought we would bother to follow those ones.

His body stiffened and I he knew he knew what was coming. "For who?"

"Quatre and Duo, possibly Wufei," I said reluctantly, hardly wanting to acknowledge the truth myself. "These aren't Oz soldiers, Trowa. They had no idea that we're Gundam Pilots. Their goal was much simpler than that; they wanted Quatre, probably so they could either call for ransom or get some sort of revenge against his family. The rest of us were just caught up in the crossfire." Which meant Duo would be considered expendable. My stomach twisted at the thought.

He straightened and shook his head. Worry mingled with fear and anger flashed in his visible green eye. "I'm not even going to ask how you know all that," he muttered. "Let's just get our weapons and find someone to interrogate before that idiot kills our only way of finding them."

That sounded good to me. We moved out of the closet cautiously, aware that there could be people who hadn't been drawn downstairs. I took the lead since I was the only one armed, but we didn't meet anyone. The gunfire had stopped and I could hear people moaning and crying out. Some of them didn't sound very far from death and I knew that if we waited too long our chance would be lost. "You go," I said, stopping suddenly. "I'll go interrogate them."

Trowa just nodded and slipped up the stairs so silently that it was like he became a part of the shadows. I kept the gun - I had no doubt he'd make it to his and Quatre's room without being detected - and turned to walk into the front part of the house. There proved to only be a handful of people left and some of them were already dead, including the idiot. Those that weren't turned an alarming shade of white when I walked into the room. Knowing that I was the cause of their pain and eventual death didn't disturb me; if anything, I felt satisfied and vengeful. Perhaps it showed, because all of them were most helpful when I began asking questions. A wise choice on their part, all things considered. Nothing was going to keep me away from Duo now.

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Please review!


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Thanks for the review. I'm glad everyone seemed to understand what was going on with Heero, and now you get to see the other half of the attack - this is taking place at the same time as the previous chapter. Enjoy!

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A deep gray smoke billowed into the room far too quickly for my liking. Instinct kicked in and I slithered out of my chair to the floor, where I knew that the freshest air would be. It wasn't the first time I'd been inside of a burning building and I doubted it would be the last. Being so close to the floor didn't help with seeing anything, though, so I started feeling my way out by touch. I couldn't help wondering where Heero had gone – was he alright? Had he been hurt by the wall caving in? – but I tried to push those thoughts aside, knowing that they wouldn't help. Then my hands brushed across clothing, and without thinking I took in a sharp breath. Stupid on my part; I doubled over coughing and choking, unable to move for a few precious seconds.

"Fuck," I hissed at last. My throat was burning and my lungs ached. I'd inhaled a healthy portion of smoke. Rubbing my chest, I reached out with my free hand and cautiously felt my way up a side, across a shoulder, and through soft hair that was fairly short. Quatre, then. I'd had my hands in Heero's hair enough to know that it wasn't nearly as fine as the silken strands that were sliding through my fingers. I got up onto my feet, though I stayed crouching down, slipped my hands under his arms and started dragging him across the floor towards the hall. It was a good thing that he was small, or I wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise. As it was, I was gasping for breath by the time we were both out of the kitchen.

Quat didn't look so hot, and although I couldn't see anything physical that could be causing him problems, his face was pale and his breathing was laboured. I ran my fingers across his head and through his hair, searching for a wound of some kind that I might have missed, but there was nothing. So I shook him gently and called his name, then tapped the side of his face, hoping that he would wake up. He didn't respond and I started to panic. There was no way I was going to leave him, but I doubted my ability to carry him since we were basically the same size and my chest already felt like something had reached inside and was slowly squeezing tighter. But what was the alternative?

Swearing softly, I leaned down and pulled him into a sitting position, then awkwardly hefted his body up until he was lying across my shoulder. I wrapped an arm around his thighs to hold him in place and used my other hand to steady myself as I stood up. The room spun and I swallowed a groan, leaning against the wall. Beads of sweat broke out across my forehead. Q might have been small, but he was solid, and my body was struggling underneath his weight. I staggered down the hall, figuring that we'd get to a room where we could lock the door and then go out the window if we had to. We never got that far.

It was sheer luck that there happened to be an engraved mirror hanging above an old wooden trunk at the end of the hallway. As it turned out, the mirror had been positioned just right to reflect most of the living room... as well as the dark-clothed, masked people walking around like they owned the place. I froze immediately, realizing how close I had come to revealing our presence. A second later, it occurred to me that if I could see their reflection, they might be able to see mine. I pulled back, which gave me a less impressive view, but if it kept our location hidden for a few minutes more than it was worth it.

"I didn't find the Winner kid! Doran, you said that this would be easy!" A woman's voice, high-pitched and bordering on the 'nails on a chalkboard' level of irritating. She and a couple of others pulled their masks off .My knees started shaking and I had no choice but to set Quat down.

"I said that bombing the house would be easy, Quail. Relax; Luke hit all of them with a tranquilizer so there's no way that those kids could have gone far. If they're not outside, they're here in the house." The man that was talking was very tall and very wide. My stomach clenched. "You three, go upstairs and search. They have to be around here somewhere."

Tranquilizer darts? I certainly hadn't been hit, but that explained Quatre's state and the absence of Heero, Trowa, and Wufei if they'd been hit as well. I'd hit the floor as soon as the smoke appeared and that had probably saved me. I glanced at the mirror again. These people, whoever they were, weren't soldiers. That much was obvious just from the way that they moved and talked. Their primary target was Quat, so they were most likely morons with some kind of vendetta against the Winner family. They wanted him for either ransom or murder but I was guessing it was probably ransom judging by how nervous most of them were.

Q stirred at my feet and let out a low, confused sound. I dropped to my knees and pressed a hand to his mouth to keep him quiet. His eyes flew open but when he saw it was me he went still. "Shh, you gotta stay quiet, Kitty Cat," I whispered into his ear. "We're under attack and we're much closer to your would-be kidnappers than I'd like to be."

He blinked up at me and nodded in understanding. I helped him get to his feet. He was swaying and seemed out of it, but I was able to get him on his feet and walking as long as he kept an arm around my shoulders for additional stability. We hadn't gotten more than a few steps before Quatre began to stagger and his knees buckled beneath him, nearly sending us both to the ground. I looked around quickly and spotted a closet that, while small, would work. I got the door open and manhandled him inside. He practically passed out against the wall as I shut the door, leaving us in darkness except for the little bit of light that came from the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor.

I twisted around, took Quat's hand, and dug my nails into the back of it. The resulting yelp of pain told me that my way of waking him up, while unappreciated, had worked for the time being. "Quatre, listen to me. I need to know how we can get out of here without being seen," I hissed, keeping my voice low.

"Duo? What's going on?" He squinted at me, and I could tell that he was having a hard time focusing on what I was saying. Whatever they had given him had to be strong if it was able to overcome the resistance training that all the pilots had undergone. Even though I hated to hurt him anymore, I pressed my nails even more deeply into his skin and felt fresh blood welling up. Q sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth and shifted, blinking at me with a little more awareness this time.

"Just stay with me for a minute, okay?" I said, knowing that our time was likely very limited. Fuck! Why hadn't I gone out the hole in the wall instead of coming back into the house? At the time, I hadn't been thinking about much of anything, but now I knew it was a huge strategic error. Better to be outside with lots of space when you inevitably ran into trouble than to be trapped inside a house with people all over the damn place. If this cost both of us our lives, gods or not I knew I would never forgive myself. "There are people in your house that want to kidnap you. Some of your servants were in on the plan, I think, and that's how they found us. You've been hit with a tranquilizer dart and I'm pretty sure that the same thing happened to Heero, Trowa, and Wufei. I need to know how we can get out of here."

It took him a minute to absorb everything that he was being told, but I'll say this much: even drugged, Quat catches on fast. "Where exactly are we in the house?" he asked, sounding remarkably composed considering the situation I had just described. I have to admit, it had a soothing effect on me; I could feel my pounding heart beginning to slow.

"We're in a closet just off of the living room," I replied more calmly, "In between there and the kitchen." It wasn't a good place to be, as we were surrounded, and I regretted not tagging along for the tour that Quatre had given Trowa. Alright, I knew they'd mostly gone to find dark places in which to make out without interruption, but we'd have been a lot better off if I had more details about the house.

"Let me think for a minute." He closed his eyes and I was half-afraid he was going to pass out again, but as long as his head didn't roll back on his shoulders I was willing to let him be. Instead I turned around and pressed an ear to the door to see if I could hear anything. There was the occasional set of footsteps out in the hall, but nothing beyond that. Clearly, though, they were still searching for us and I doubted they would give up. We didn't have any weapons and it wasn't like we'd be able to get far unless that exit was close.

"Alright, I think I have it. There should be an exit at the end of this hall; when I was younger, there was a large trunk right underneath that decorative mirror on the left-hand side. If you push it aside, there should be a small tunnel that the two of us could fit through. Good thing we're so small." He smiled wearily.

"Do you think you can walk?" I said, eyeing him doubtfully. Even though he was propped against the wall, he was still swaying a little. I couldn't fight and carry him at the same time. "Maybe I should go and try to distract them while you - "

"No!" Quatre cut me off and gave me a Look. "No way, Duo, I'm not leaving you here. You said it yourself; I'm the primary target. I'm the one they want. They'll kill you if they have to."

I decided not to waste precious time arguing with him. It was a fight that I probably wouldn't win. "Alright, let's go, then."

He pushed himself off of the wall and I reached out instinctively to steady him. Now that we were a little closer, I could see how bad he looked, and it was obvious that he probably wouldn't be able to fight off the effects of the drugs much longer. I took a deep breath and reached into my pocket, pulling my gun out, before easing the door open. Amazingly, there was no one in sight. I'd half been expecting someone to be standing there waiting for us. I stepped out into the corridor, keeping my back to the wall, and beckoned to Quatre to follow.

I heard the floorboard creak to the left and my body reacted before I even fully registered that someone was coming. Two people from the direction of the kitchen; I took the first one out with a blow to the head. I was trying to avoid attracting extra attention with shots, but the second one ruined that plan by shooting at us. Quatre yelped and the one in front of me pulled back instantly, gun wavering. I took the opportunity, raising my own gun and shooting her straight through the heart. She went down and I spun to face Quat. The bullet had only nicked his shoulder, but she'd reacted like she had caused a serious injury. So they weren't supposed to hurt him. That was something at least.

"Come on!" I hissed, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the hallway. But before we'd taken a handful of steps, I heard the sound of more people approaching. I pushed Quatre ahead of me, hoping he'd have the sense to get to the trunk, and started shooting. I managed to take down a handful of the idiots who were stupid enough to step around the corner without checking first. That cleared the way ahead of us and I was starting to think we might actually get somewhere when I felt a painful sting in my right hip. I reached down immediately and grabbed the dart, throwing it to the floor, but the damage had been done.

"Duo!" Quatre cried somewhere ahead of me, but his voice sounded like it was coming from a long ways away. I blinked and suddenly I was sitting on the floor and my gun had been taken by one of the men hovering over me. He wasn't wearing a mask, so I could see that he was smirking. I really didn't like the way he was looking at me.

"You're pretty handy for little kids," said one of the women, cocking the gun she was holding. "I don't think anyone was expecting you to put up this kind of a fight."

"Yeah, well, fuck you," I mumbled, or at least I think I did. My body felt very heavy and nothing was really responding. I managed to force my head up enough to see that two people were standing on either side of Quat, though their guns were hanging by their sides. He was staring at me looking alarmed, though he seemed to relax a little when he saw that I was still conscious.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked, and from the cold, concise sound of his voice, you'd have never known he was drugged. I wanted to smile. That was Q for you.

"It's none of your concern who we are," the women said. "All you need to know is that your daddy has done some things that we don't agree with, and unless he changes his mind and agrees with our demands he's going to lose his only heir." She touched the gun to Quatre's temple and smiled coldly. "No need to worry, little boy. We won't hurt you until your daddy is too stupid to pay attention to our demands. Though, considering that he's not the smartest man in the world to begin with, maybe you_ should_ be worried." She giggled.

"What should we do with this one?" The one in front of me asked. There was a gleam in his eyes that I'd seen before and his fingers were caressing my gun in a way that made me shiver internally.

"Leave him alone!" Quat ordered.

The woman looked between us. She seemed to be the one who was giving most of the orders. "Hands off, Mike. We'll take him along to make sure that this one cooperates," she said, poking Quatre in the shoulder with the gun. "You guys search the house for the rest of those kids. Mike, take a team upstairs. Make sure there are no witnesses left behind."

My heart sank and I saw Quatre go pale. We were both thinking the same thing, no doubt. None of us had been prepared for this attack: this group, whoever they were, had managed to catch us completely off guard. I'd escaped being tranquilized right off out of luck but I had no idea if the others had been that fortunate. If Heero, Trowa and Wufei had been hit by the darts… I could only pray that they'd had the chance to get somewhere safe before passing out. I didn't even want to think about what would happen otherwise. It hurt too much.

Two men hoisted me up onto my feet, and even though taking a single step took every last bit of focus I had, I made myself walk on my own. There was no way I was going to allow them to drag me around. I was marched out first with Quatre behind me. I looked around, searching for any sign of the others, but there didn't seem to be anything until I spotted a flash of golden fur out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look and saw Quatre's puppy standing beside one of the women. The dog wasn't in the best of shape; its fur was matted and sooty, and it looked like it had wounded one of its paws. I tried not to think about what that meant, about how if Trowa had been around he never would have left the dog in that kind of condition.

"What about this one?" I heard someone say and lifted my head. Quatre moaned deep in his throat when we saw Wufei. He was unconscious and hanging limply between the arms of two tall men. Both of them had guns and were prepared to use them.

"Kill him," said the woman. "We only need one to keep the kid in line."

"No!" Quatre yelled. "Please! Wufei!"

"Shut up!" she hissed, slapping him across the face with the gun. "Get them in the truck!"

We were forced over to the truck. My hands were cuffed behind my back and then my ankles were cuffed. They tied the two chains together so that I was forced into an awkward kneeling position and pushed me into back. Unable to keep my balance, I stumbled and toppled over. Landing did nothing to stop the drugs that were quickly over-taking my system. Darkness swarmed over my eyes and the world went fuzzy and quiet. Quatre's voice frantically shouting my name called me back for a moment, but my vision remained dim and my head was throbbing. I just wanted to go to sleep; the urge was so strong that I could no longer fight it back.

"M'sorry, Quat," I whispered, my eyes growing too heavy for me to keep open. "Sorry..."

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Please review!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews! I'm glad everyone is still enjoying the story. Yes there will be lots of butt-kicking in the future! Enjoy.

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It took Trowa about an hour to come back downstairs. I knew from a single glance as he walked into the living room that he'd been having a talk with people that he must have found upstairs. By that point, I had gone through the first floor of the house and made sure that no one else was lying in wait. I'd found some of the servants who hadn't had time to escape dead in the pantry off the kitchen. Their bodies had been tossed on the floor in a heap. It made me angry that people could be so callous, and I had to wonder about the other servants. Had they escaped or was that how the group had found the house in the first place?

"Did you find out anything?" I asked, looking up at him. He had a couple of bags hooked over his shoulders and I knew that he'd spent a few minutes packing for him, Quatre and probably Wufei, judging by the fact that a slender sword was hanging from his belt.

"Not as much as I'd hoped," he replied, hefting one of the bags higher. "These are professionals, or at least some of them are. They didn't break. I didn't pack for you or Duo, by the way."

I'd had the same experience with them, but I had been hoping that he'd had more luck. "Alright, I'll go get mine and Duo's stuff together and then we'll - " I cut myself off when we heard the sound of a dog barking: sharp, high-pitched, frantic barks. Trowa looked at me and then, dropping the bags, ran to the door. I followed quickly, bursting outside into the cold night air and looking around for the source of the noise. It would have been hard to miss. The dog that had been with us earlier, the one that Trowa had ordered to stay behind when we entered the house, was standing at the edge of the forest, staring in our direction and barking. He looked pretty beaten up, but when Trowa stepped towards him, he darted away before stopping to look back at us.

"He wants us to follow him," Trowa said quietly, taking a few steps forward.

"Let me get a flashlight," I said, ducking back into the house. I searched through the bags until I found one before heading back outside, pulling Duo's gun out as I went. Trowa was standing at the very edge of the forest, staring into the trees and listening to the distant sound of barking. As soon as I got to him, he hurried into the woods, his pace frantic. I switched on the light and ran after him. The woods were suspiciously quiet and I felt on edge; the only sound was that of our breathing, footsteps and the dog's faint barking. It never stopped, like it was trying to guide us to the right spot.

I had the flashlight straight out in front of us as we jogged along and I stopped when the small circle of light picked up the dog. Trowa paused as well and fell to one knee, hand out. The dog limped over to him as I moved forward and swept the flashlight back and forth to see what had upset it so much. Then the light lit on someone's foot, and my heart turned over. My breath caught in my throat and a shiver went down my spine. I didn't know if I really wanted to see what – or rather, who – was laying there, but I forced myself to take another step forward. Bare golden feet and white pants came into view, and by then I knew who it was.

"Wufei!" The strangled cry did not sound like it could have come from me as I fell to my knees beside him. He was unconscious and there was blood all over his previously white shirt. It had even seeped into his pants. I set the flashlight down and ran my hands over his chest, searching for the source of the blood and hoping that he hadn't been hurt somewhere we couldn't fix. I finally found the wound in his shoulder; there was a small, round hole that was still bleeding sluggishly.

"Heero?" Trowa came up behind me. The fear in his voice was unmistakable and I shuddered in reply. My voice caught for a moment and I had to swallow hard before I could respond.

"He's alive." Barely. His chest was rising and falling far more slowly than I would have liked. "But he's been shot in the shoulder and he's lost a lot of blood. They probably left him here to bleed out." I had to push back my rage at the thought. If that dog hadn't barked, we might have walked away and left him here to die.

"We'll have to move him back to the house," said Trowa. "Give him treatment there."

It wasn't the best plan but it was the only one we had to work with. Now that the sun had gone down, it was getting cold, and we were all shivering. I stood up, tucking the flashlight under my arm, and moved around to grab Wufei's shoulders. Trowa leaned down to take his legs. Together, the two of us lifted. I was actually relieved that Wufei was out, because even unconscious, he still groaned in pain at the movement. Had he been awake, the pain probably would have been excruciating.

We started a slow, awkward walk back to the house. It seemed to take forever. The dog kept pace beside us the whole way, and I wasn't sure if I was imagining that it seemed to be staring worriedly at Wufei. My hands were shaking with cold by the time we made it back and I knew that even though we'd found Wufei, there was still a chance that he could die from either blood loss or hypothermia. He needed to be warmed up and it would have been best if we didn't move him. Yet we couldn't stay long at the house, not when it had been compromised. There was no way of knowing if the group might come back to make sure that their job was finished.

"Put him on the sofa," I said breathlessly, staggering up the last step. Trowa nodded, his face pinched from pain, and we stumbled into the living room and gratefully set Wufei down as gently as possible. I leaned against the wall while Trowa collapsed into a chair, one hand cradling his neck protectively. Both of us were breathing hard but I knew his throat had to be hurting him, so I pushed myself up and went to go find our medical equipment.

When I came back, Trowa had removed the bloody shirt and was carefully washing the blood off of Wufei's chest. I was amazed that there was so much of it; he must have been out there for a while. I set the equipment down and stood back. Trowa had more experience with tending to wounds than I did, and what we needed was speed and work done quickly but right. He began probing the wound for the bullet and extracted it while I went upstairs and started getting mine and Duo's stuff together.

We didn't have a lot that was absolutely necessary for me to bring with us. As pilots it was necessary for us to travel light and be able to go in a hurry, and fortunately, Duo and I were both mostly packed anyway since were supposed to have left for a mission the next morning. It only took me a couple of minutes to grab our bags and laptops and to check the rest of the rooms to make sure that nothing incriminating had been left behind. I found a small switchblade that had been left in Duo's nightstand, but that was it. I slipped it into my pocket and then headed back downstairs.

"How's he doing?" I asked, walking by the living room. I grabbed the other bags that Trowa had left there and lingered enough to hear an answer.

"Been better," Trowa muttered, drawing a hand across his forehead.

I nodded and continued on to the garage. We'd need some way of getting out of here that wouldn't attract much attention; for now, our Gundams would have to stay hidden where they were. Wufei wasn't even conscious, Trowa was fading fast, and even I could feel exhaustion sneaking up on me. Honestly, I hadn't felt quite right ever since the god had given control back. My body felt like it had been awake for several days without sleep, like I was pushing myself to the absolute limit, and I really just wanted to sleep. It seemed to take me forever to load the trunk of the large car I'd found with all of the bags. Then I had to go over it inch by inch, searching for tracking devices, and by the time I'd taken a handful off and crushed them beneath my foot, I was fighting the urge to put my head down wherever and just let the darkness take over.

Fortunately, Trowa came to the door of the garage and requested my help before it came to that. I wearily stood up and went back into the house. He'd stitched Wufei's wound together and bandaged it, making a rough sling for his arm to keep it restricted while he was unconscious. Between the two of us, we got him into a warmer sweatshirt and then managed to carry him out to the car and lay him down in the back. We left him there while Trowa packed up the medical equipment and I raided the kitchen for supplies, and then we were ready to go.

The dog met us at the car.

I stared from it to Trowa. "No way."

"Come on, Heero."

"No. Absolutely not. We can't have pets, Trowa; you of all people should know that."

"We can't just leave him here," Trowa pointed out. "He could starve."

I clenched my teeth, hating the fact that he had a point. The house was in a secluded part of the woods and it would be a while before anyone noticed that no one was coming or going. We couldn't report what had happened, and the dog didn't look capable of hunting for itself. I'd never hear the end of it from Duo and Quatre if we just left it there and it starved to death. "Fine, but we're dropping it off at the first animal shelter we come to, got it?"

Trowa grinned and opened up the back door. The dog hopped inside and stretched out on the floor beside Wufei like an angel. I shot it a suspicious look as I climbed behind the wheel, knowing that it was a bad idea to bring it along. Having pets in our life was an impossibility; there were times when all five of us were off on missions for weeks at a time, so there would be no one to care for it. Plus it was much more difficult to hide when there was an animal to worry about. I sighed and started the car as Trowa got in beside me and shut his door. As much as I didn't like the thought of bringing it along, we had no choice.

It took us a good two hours to get out of the woods and back onto the road thanks to fact that it was dark. An hour after that, Trowa finally fell asleep, his head leaning against the window. One of the maps we'd found in the dash was spread open across his knees. I'd been expecting it, so I wasn't overly concerned when I glanced over and saw him passed out. At that angle, the collar of his shirt had slipped down just enough for me to see the dark bruise around his throat. The skin was swollen and it had to have been painful. Another inch or two tighter and his neck probably would have snapped. I clenched my fingers around the wheel and forced myself to look away.

The minutes crawled by. We didn't have any specific destination in mind, but Trowa had suggested we head for the nearest moderately sized city, which was about a four hour drive north. It was likely that the group that had kidnapped Duo and Quatre would stay fairly close; they wouldn't want to risk being caught by trying to transport the two of them across a wide distance. Furthermore, there would be more resources for us to take advantage of once we got to the city, but getting there was proving to be a problem. My head was swimming and I was having an increasingly difficult time staying awake.

A low whining broke my concentration and I blinked, my eyes feeling heavy. The road was a hazy blur in front of me as a warm tongue touched my elbow and I jumped, suddenly realizing that the car had been drifting. My foot instinctively pressing down on the brake, I eased the car over onto the side of the road and just sat there a minute, my heart pounding. I'd been falling asleep at the wheel. Wouldn't that have been ironic? Three Gundam Pilots killed in a car crash because one of them was too stupid to know when driving was more dangerous than staying put.

I twisted around to look at the dog. He panted and stared back at me. Without thinking, I pushed my door open, got out, and opened up the back door. Wufei was still unconscious but the dog - what was its name? Kin? - jumped out eagerly and took off into the woods. I ambled after it, feeling a little more awake now that I was upright and moving around, but exhaustion was still weighing on me heavily. I didn't know how much further we'd be able to go, not unless Trowa or Wufei woke up and took over, and I didn't think that was likely, but I had to try.

Kin came running back to me carrying a large stick. I raised an eyebrow but bent down and picked it up, tossing it as far as I could throw. He took off after it with a happy bark and then brought it back. I threw it several more times, until finally he brought it back and collapsed at my feet. I knelt down and, after a moment of hesitation, reached out and stroked the golden fur. It felt soft under my fingers, though it was nothing like the feel of Duo's hair. The resulting wave of fear and concern at the thought of Duo that washed over me left me breathless. As though sensing my distress, Kin whined and sat up, washing my face with broad strokes of his tongue.

I laughed a little and pushed him away, wiping my face with the hem of my sleeve. "Come on, boy," I said roughly, rubbing my eyes. "It's time to get back in the car and drive some more, okay? Then we're going to go rescue your master."

He barked in response and stood up when I did. We returned to the car and I saw that Trowa and Wufei were exactly where I'd left them, both of them still sleeping. When I put Kin in the back, I noticed that the color had returned to Wufei's face, and I felt better as I got into the driver's seat, this time vowing to stay awake no matter what it took. I could sleep once we'd gotten Duo and Quatre back. I started the car again and pulled back out onto the road, this time making sure that I kept myself focused. The fact that I'd stopped and stretched helped a little.

Time passed in a blur. I didn't remember much of the last part of the drive, but the car stayed on the road. Still, I was probably more asleep than I should have been when I spotted something that made me snap awake with a flood of adrenaline. It was a roadblock. Oz soldiers were stopping cars and examining the passengers before allowing them to pass into the city. I felt my stomach twist as I thought about the weapons we had in the back. Not even Oz soldiers, stupid as they could be, would be able to miss them. They didn't seem to be searching every car that closely, which was a good thing, but if they had pictures of the Gundam Pilots we were in trouble.

There was no way out, either; the car was on a two-lane road and there were several cars to my left, behind, and in front of us, as well as dense forest to the right. I swallowed hard and stared straight ahead as we got closer. It was easy to work my face into a calm mask. I'd had years of practice as the perfect soldier and I relied on those ingrained instincts as one of the Oz soldiers started walking towards the car. My heart was beating so hard that it hurt, but I was sure that it didn't show on my face as I rolled down the window and looked up at him.

"Hello there young man," he said loudly. "Where are you headed?"

"My friends and I are going into the city for a vacation," I said calmly, hoping that he'd take the hint and keep his voice down. I didn't want Trowa or Wufei to wake up and find Oz soldiers surrounding us. Fur brushed against my arm as Kin poked his head into the front seat. "We brought our dog with us."

"Aw, he's a sweetheart," the man said with a goofy smile, reaching across me to rub Kin's ears. I stiffened and it took every last bit of self-control I possessed to not react. I half wished that Kin would bite him. "You kids have your passports with you?"

I gave him a blank look. "Why? We didn't cross the border."

"It's always good to have your passport with you, kid." He looked into the back of the car and frowned. "What happened to your friend?"

"Motorcycle accident," I replied, the lie coming easily to my lips. He didn't say anything else for a couple of minutes, just kept looking the car over like he was expecting something to jump out at him. Finally, I said, "Can we go now?"

"Yeah, I guess," he said, leaning backwards. I could tell he wasn't too sure about letting us go, but since he didn't really have a reason to search the car, he didn't have a choice. I wasn't going to give him the chance to find anything. I pressed down on the accelerator and the car leapt forward. The Oz soldier jumped backwards and I smirked to myself as we left him behind. I could tell that I only had about half an hour until I would crash for good, and I wanted to use it getting to a hotel, not being questioned by idiotic soldiers who didn't even know the Gundam Pilots when they were right in front of him.

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Please review!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews. I'm not completely sure this chapter will be canon-compliant (looking it up got me totally lost on TV tropes for a good hour while I was at work) but artistic license and all that. Enjoy!

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Fingers clawing at my wrists dragged me out of my drugged sleep. I fought against the insistent pull and forced my eyes to open, wondering where we were and what had happened while I was out. The floor was shaking beneath me, and I realized that we were still in that truck and were now being driven to some unknown destination. It was cold, and the part of my body that was in contact with the floor felt like it was lying on a slab of ice. My whole side was numb. I wondered how long I had been out for and tried to move around. Given my limited mobility and the drugs still coursing through my system, that was easier said than done, but finally I'd managed to twist myself around so that I could look at Quatre.

He didn't look very good. His face was pale and his eyes were half-lidded; I suspected he was trying to keep from falling under the influence of the drugs, and he'd been crying. There were tear tracks on his cheeks. But when he saw that I was awake, he smiled at me. "Duo, thank Allah. I've been trying to wake you up for the past twenty minutes. I couldn't even tell if you were still breathing."

"Sorry," I muttered. I pushed my legs against the wall and scooted closer to him so that we could talk without being overheard. "How long was I out for?"

"Not that long. About an hour or so, as best I can guess. I keep dropping off, too." He bit his lip, looking frustrated. Unlike me, his hands had been cuffed in front of his body, and though his ankles had been cuffed together, there was no chain connecting his ankles to his wrists. Clearly they didn't expect that he would be able to do make much trouble for them. These people really were idiots.

"I have lock picks hidden in my braid," I informed him. If we could get our hands and legs free, we might be able to do something. "Do you think you could reach?"

"Yes, but I think we should wait," he replied. "There're at least three people in the front and I think more are following in other vehicles. We'll have to pick the right time to try and escape. No sense in showing our hand until we have a chance." He hesitated slightly. "Do you… think that Shinigami would be able to help?"

I closed my eyes for just a second. It was getting hard to keep them open. "No, probably not. I… I don't handle drugs very well." I gritted my teeth as the truck went over a bump in the road and we were jolted. It was making my stomach churn in an unpleasant way. "They'd still be in effect and I don't think a god on drugs would help our situation, do you?"

He giggled. "No, I guess not, though it might give our captors something to think twice about."

"Them and anyone else stupid enough to get in my way," I said lazily. I could feel sleep hovering at the edge of my senses, just waiting for me to let my guard down. The thought of giving in was so tempting. But I didn't like the thought of leaving Quat alone, or of being vulnerable to whatever those idiots wanted to do. I hadn't forgotten the way that one looked at me.

The truck turned sharply, sending both of us sliding across the floor, and began to shudder as it drove over what must have been crushed rock. We had to be out in the country, then, which made sense if they were planning on trying to hide us somewhere. I clenched my hands into fists and concentrated on breathing deeply and slowly, trying to control my gag reflux. If it weren't for the fact that these people had already demonstrated that they had no qualms about hurting and possibly killing us, I wouldn't have thought twice about throwing up and leaving a nice little mess for one of them to clean up.

"Duo," Q whispered.

"What?" I managed, swallowing hard.

"I… I think Wufei is alright. I can feel the four of you all the time now." He lifted his chained hands and placed them over his chest. "It's much stronger than it used to be and Wufei's presence hasn't changed. It's become fainter, but it's still there."

I just looked at him for a long moment, unsure of what to say. Was Wufei really alright or was Quatre just imagining that to make himself feel better? I prayed that it was the former but I couldn't help thinking that it might be the latter. I didn't want Q to think that, though. "That's good, Kitty-Cat," I told him hoarsely. "I'm glad to know that. Maybe Hee-chan and Trowa got to him in time."

Quatre opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment the driver slammed on the brakes, the truck screeched to a stop, and he went sliding into me. I yelped as I was crushed between the wall and his body, but it at least it helped to wake me up a little more as light flooded into the back of the truck from the doors begin roughly jerked open. Instantly my eyes began to sting, and I blinked rapidly, squinting in an effort to make out the shadowed figures reaching towards us. They grabbed Quatre first and pulled him out of the truck, setting him on his feet. I got the rough treatment, literally. I hit the ground hard and discovered that yes, we had been traveling on a road of crushed rock, and that it hurt like a bitch when thousands of tiny rocks were pressing into and tearing your skin all at once.

"Duo! Hey, tell your men to be a little bit nicer or I won't co-operate," Quatre snapped. I wanted to tell him to keep his mouth shut, but I knew it wouldn't do any good.

"And you listen to me, little boy. Your friend here won't live to see the next dawn if you don't," the woman retorted. She slid her hand into Quatre's hair and jerked his head back, forcing him to look up into his eyes. "As long as you do what we say, your friend won't be harmed very much."

His eyes flickered in my direction and I knew we were both wondering the same thing: what, exactly, 'very much' meant. "Alright," he said at last, sounding defeated, though I know he was anything but. One of the men stepped up behind me and unlocked the chain between my ankle and wrist cuffs, allowing me to stand up. I could tell that Quatre had switched to sizing up the area and trying to memorize the faces of the people around us. I wanted to do the same, but it was all I could do to keep my balance. My legs were threatening to give out from under me and if I wasn't careful I was going to end up right back where I'd started.

"Now, walk!" she barked, making a motion with the gun she was holding. Quatre scowled but started moving, and I fell into step behind him, keeping my eyes focused on his feet and matching his pace. We were in a heavily wooded area, which was both good and bad. Good if we wanted to escape because there would be more places to hide, but bad because I didn't know all that much about surviving in the wilderness. Drop me in the middle of a city and I can do anything, but the middle of the forest was a whole different story. I had to hope that Quatre would be better prepared than I was.

I stumbled suddenly, caught off guard by a sharp prod to my back, and looked up. We were being herded towards what looked like a log cabin. It was quite run-down though, nothing like the ritzy places that Quatre's family owned. There were shingles falling off of the roof and several of the windows had been boarded up. I tried to memorize as much as I could, fixing the territory outside of the cabin in my mind in case one of us came up with an escape plan, and was unprepared for Quatre unexpectedly coming to a halt. I walked right into him. He shot me a warm, tired smile as I peered over his shoulder to see why he had stopped.

A tall man was standing about five feet away. His arms were folded and he was looking at us like we were diseased rats. "That the Winner kid?" he asked, pointing to Quatre.

"Obviously," the woman said, rolling her eyes. I could hear the disdain in her voice. There was no love lost between these two that was for certain.

"Just making sure. It wouldn't be beyond you to bring back the wrong kid," Tall said, sneering at her. He stepped closer and looked at Quatre, examining him from head to toe, before finally nodding. "Yeah, just like I remember him. Looks exactly like the old man's wife. Alright, you three bring this one into the house. The rest of you take his little friend to the place out back. Stay with him until we bring Winner back and god help you if he escapes." There was a real threat in his voice and I felt the man standing beside me wince. So Tall was dangerous enough to intimidate people who were armed... interesting.

I allowed them to pull me away without raising a fuss, not wanting to give Quatre any reason to do anything except do what they said, and walked around the side of the cabin. My escorts were three men that I instantly dubbed Shorty, Blue and Tanned. Blue wasn't dressed in black like everyone else; he was wearing clothing in such a bright shade of blue that it made my head ache. He was also giving me a look that made my skin crawl, and I entertained a brief fantasy of shooting him between the eyes as they marched me over to this little shack that had been built right behind the cabin. It didn't look like much, but as they opened the door and ushered me inside, I realized that structurally speaking it was well-built.

"Tie him up," Blue commanded, tossing a set of handcuffs to Tanned. "I don't want to give him the slightest opportunity to escape. It'll be our asses on the line if he does. And give him another shot. I think he's starting to shake off the effects of the last one. We can't be too careful when it comes to friends of the Winner family. For all we know, he's a bodyguard in disguise."

"_Him_?" Shorty said with a raised eyebrow, looking at me critically. I sneered in reply. It was nice to have someone that was actually a few inches shorter than me around. "You've got to be joking. This kid doesn't look strong enough to break a stick."

"I'm not. You don't know what this family is capable of. They're all crazy, every last one of them, and paranoid on top of that," Blue replied. He stood back and watched as Shorty and Tanned shoved me into the shack and pushed me up against the wall. Thick iron handles had been soldered onto a steel band, and they re-cuffed me to the wall with my hands spread apart. My wrists hung down about ten inches when they were done, and I could've gotten my fingers around my braid to get my lock picks myself once I was alone if Blue hadn't pulled a capped needle out of his jacket. It was filled with a pale blue liquid. He popped the cap off and lightly tapped the plunger, sending a fine spray of liquid into the air.

The sight of it made me panic and in spite of my resolve to behave until they were gone, I couldn't make myself stand still. I tried to pull away from Tanned and Shorty, and when Blue took a step towards me I hoisted myself up on the chains and kicked out at him with both of my legs. I caught him in the stomach and he doubled over with a yelp, dropping the needle. But then Tanned got in on it, and he grabbed my waist and slammed my legs against the wall. Shorty grabbed the needle off of the ground and slid it home into my vein while I was struggling against Tanned. I felt the sharp prickling sensation immediately followed by a wave of numbness.

As stupid as these guys seemed to be, Tanned was still smart enough to hang on until he felt the resistance leaving my body. I slumped backwards against the wall as he stepped away cautiously, my head spinning. The drug was definitely fast acting, and I felt like even moving a finger would be too much effort. Blue grabbed my chin and yanked my head up so that he could stare into my eyes. I was pretty sure he was looking to see if the drug had taken hold, but trying to focus on something so close to me made my stomach heave and I threw up all over him.

Blue made a weird high-pitched yelp and staggered back with a look of utter disgust on his face. "You fucking little brat!" he yelled, launching a foot at my stomach. I didn't even feel the impact, but he must have struck relatively hard because Tanned jumped on him and dragged him backwards.

"Hey, cool it!" he shouted. "We're trying to keep the Winner kid co-operating with us. That will all go out the window if he finds out you've been beating on his friend. It's not like the kid did it on purpose."

"I bet he fucking did," Blue swore, staring down at his ruined shirt with a look of disgust. I let my head drop to my chin and closed my eyes as darkness swelled up around me. I could distantly hear them talking - Blue was sent off to change his clothing and Shorty and Tanned started laughing their asses off as soon as he was out of earshot - but it was like I was hearing it from underwater. Their voices sounded muted and slow and it took me a long time to understand anything that was said. My mind was so sluggish that it was frightening.

I wasn't sure what happened after that. I drifted in and out of unconsciousness and I began having strange dreams. That woman, the one who glowed with the unearthly light that was no specific color, featured prominently in all of them. I didn't know who she was but she was always on the move. Sometimes she was staring down at a white globe that looked puffy, like a cloud. Other times she was talking to different people. Once I even saw her speaking to someone with a long chestnut braid, but by the time I connected to the dots and realized she might have been talking to me – or at least, some version of me – the dreams had moved on.

It was dizzying to watch it all happen and I wished it would stop. My head was throbbing and my skin felt tight and hot the way it did when I stayed outside too long and ended up with a bad sunburn. In the distance I heard a door slamming shut and people shouting at each other. I blinked heavily and lifted my head, wondering whether I was still dreaming. My eyes focused slowly and I realized that I was staring at Quatre. He was being dragged into the room and, as I looked on, two people I didn't know slammed him against the wall and bound his hands much like mine were. Then, amazingly, they actually left us alone.

"Duo!" Quatre's eyes were on me instantly. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm okay," I slurred, avoiding his question. I could feel dull waves of pain radiating from my stomach when I moved, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. I wanted to get him thinking about something else so he wouldn't ask again, so I said, "What happened to you?"

"They wanted me to speak to my father," he replied. There was something in his voice, an emotion I couldn't identify. "Only they couldn't get through to him. I think it made them angry that he wouldn't talk to them even after they told him that I had been kidnapped. One of my sisters finally came on. I could tell she wasn't expecting it to be true. She was... surprised... to hear from me."

I squinted at him. "What did she say?"

"Not much," Quatre said quietly. He didn't offer anything else and I didn't feel right prying. I wasn't sure whether Quatre's family knew he was a Gundam Pilot or not. It was a unique position to be in, considering that he was the only one of us who actually had a family. Trowa had the circus, but he considered them to be more of a hide out than anything else, and Heero, Wufei and I had no one. I wondered what it would be like to have a family and if it would be hard to hide things from them. Had Quatre felt better after talking to his sister, or had her presence and knowing that she was aware of what was going on made his life that much more difficult?

"Do you... think she'll do what they want?" I asked finally. Okay, so I was prying. I was bored out of my mind and talking was helping to keep me focused so that I didn't drift as much.

"I don't know." His voice was flat but there was still that something in it that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight. He looked at me and it flickered in his eyes, something deep and dark and deadly, something that was vaguely familiar, yet totally foreign. My mouth dried up and I couldn't think of what to say. But I knew one thing. Those idiots had better be damned careful, or Shinigami was going to be the least of their worries.

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Please review!


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy!

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I fully intended to go on the mission as soon as I had a couple of hours sleep. I wanted to go after Duo and Quatre, but I told myself that the mission was more important. But I needed sleep first, so I found the nearest hotel that would accept dogs and got us a couple of rooms. I woke Trowa up and directed him upstairs to a room, then grabbed Wufei and followed, leaving our bags in the car. I was actually swaying by the time I set Wufei down in his bed. Trowa was already curled up in the other double bed. Both of them were passed out. I left the spare card to my room sitting on the nightstand, left Kin on the end of Trowa's bed, and retreated to my own room, which connected to theirs with an inside door that I locked for safety's sake.

I managed to set the alarm before I fell into the bed. It was my last conscious thought before I gave in and allowed myself to shut down. Most of what happened after that is a blur. I have a very vague memory of people being in the room with me. Voices spoke to and around me, hands pulled off my boots and jeans, and then yanked the covers up over my body. I tried to sit up and someone told me to lie down and go back to sleep. Normally those were the sorts of things that would have caused me to panic, but the force inside of me was completely unconcerned by their presence and that was enough. I slipped under again.

"Heero. Heero, wake up."

There was a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me. The urge to shove whoever it was away so that I could sleep more was overwhelming. Within seconds, I knew that I had never felt like this before. My body had been engineered to go above and beyond the normal human necessities when it came to things like sleep. This bone-deep exhaustion that seemed to drag my eyelids down was something I'd never experienced until now, and I didn't like it. I fought through the darkness, pushing aside the cloying heaviness, and forced my eyes to open. It took me a moment to focus and realize that it was Trowa who was kneeling beside me.

"Trowa?" I asked stupidly. My throat burned when I spoke and I swallowed hard, then coughed. Trowa stood, picked up a glass of water and handed it to me, keeping one hand on the bottom to help me steady it. I drained the glass and felt a little better, though I still wanted desperately to sleep. "What's going on? How long have you been awake for?" I sought out my cell phone instinctively, but there was no sign of it on the nightstand. "What time is it?"

"It's about three in afternoon," he replied calmly.

I stared at him. "Three in the afternoon?" I repeated, horrified. We were supposed to leave for our mission at six. I was late. I started to throw back the covers, but Trowa stopped me by throwing an arm across my shoulders. The fact that he was able to do it so easily shocked me. I wasn't feeling up to my full strength, but I hadn't realized how weak I felt until that moment. Begrudgingly, I sank back down, and once he was sure I wasn't going to move, he stood back.

"Relax, Heero," he told me. "Forget about your mission. You've been asleep for two days."

Two days? "That can't be right. There's no way."

Trowa nodded. "Yes way. I only woke you up because I thought you needed to drink something. The last thing we need is for you to get dehydrated."

It sounded impossible, and if anyone else had tried to tell me that I had been sleeping for _two days_, I probably wouldn't have believed them. But Trowa sounded completely sincere and, more importantly, he had no reason to lie to me. I watched him move away, walking into the bathroom and, from the sound of it, filling the glass with more water. My heart was pounding as I tried to wrap my mind around this. How could I have slept for two days? Even after the most intense of missions, even after going a week without sleep, I never crashed like that. And I had missed the mission at the school! J was going to be pissed.

"Stop panicking and drink this." Another glass was pushed into my hands. I obeyed, lifting it to my lips and drinking it silently. My hand was shaking a little, I noticed. I felt completely thrown off. Trowa sat on the bed beside me and, needing a distraction, I found myself looking at his neck. As I'd expected, the red marks had developed into a deep bruising that was significantly worse along the base of his throat. Now that I thought about it, I realized that his voice had been a little harsher and raspier than normal.

"Status?" I said, needing something - anything - to focus on.

"I'm doing fine," he said. "No, really. It still hurts and I can't lie on my back to sleep but it's not life-threatening. Wufei developed an infection, but I caught it in time and he's almost back to normal. I left him eating breakfast while I came to check on you. He'll regain the full use of his arm eventually, as long as he's careful not to put too much stress on it."

That was all comforting to hear, but it hadn't escaped my notice that he had deliberately avoided mentioning two people. "And Duo and Quatre?"

"We haven't heard anything," Trowa said quietly. "There have been no signs of it on the news, so if they contacted the Winner family it's being kept under wraps. I was hoping you would feel well enough to start hacking into bank accounts or cell phone records, see if anything has been paid out or if they've been in contact with anyone suspicious."

"Bring me my laptop," I said immediately.

"Are you sure you're well enough for this, Heero?" He narrowed his eyes.

"For this? Yes." I hated the fact that two days had already gone by. No one knew what was happening to Duo and Quatre and that was deeply unsettling for all of us. No matter how exhausted I was, there was no way I was going back to sleep. I sat up more and arranged the pillows behind my back as Trowa fetched my laptop from where I'd left it on the dresser. He plugged it in and then set it across my lap. I flipped the top up as he sat down behind me, leaning against the headboard but with his upper body angled against my back so that he could see what I was working on.

I jumped in immediately. The data flashed by at a dizzying speed as my fingers darted across the keys. As expected, the Winner records were all tightly sealed and monitored by a top security team on a daily basis. I lost myself in the complex world of computer hacking, forgetting about everything outside of the computer screen. At some point, I was aware of Trowa getting off the bed, but I didn't even look up to see what he was doing. Getting in was proving to be more complex than I was expecting and it was taking all of my concentration to keep from being noticed. They wouldn't be able to stop me even if they caught onto what I was doing, but it would slow our progress down even more if I had to bother with putting them in their places.

Something touched my lips and I felt liquid sliding into my mouth. I swallowed automatically, tasting lemon and mint. Surprised, I coughed, choking a little. A hand thumped me solidly on the back between my shoulder blades and I breathed in sharply, looking up and blinking spots out of my eyes. It wasn't Trowa who was standing beside me but Wufei. He was still holding the cup of tea that he had been forcing me to drink from. His wounded arm had been bound into a sling and it was resting comfortably against his chest to help take the weight off. When he saw that he had my attention, he pressed the cup into my hands.

"Drink it," he said in a voice that would accept no arguments.

I glanced at the screen. I was running a test to see how strong the protection was on the cell phone records of the Winner family. With twenty-nine sisters and a father to go through, the test was taking longer than I'd anticipated. There was nothing I could do for the moment, though, so I obligingly lifted the cup to my mouth and drank the rest of the tea. It was hot and soothing, easing the ache in my throat before I had fully registered it was there. I felt a little more improved when I lowered the cup to my lap, though the room was starting to swim at the corners of my eyes. I shook off the desire for sleep. There was no time.

"Yuy, eat this." Wufei was back – when had he left? – and he was holding out a plate with some kind of pastry on it. My instinct was to refuse, but his eyes narrowed slightly and he gave me a Look. I could have argued, but I wasn't sure I had the strength for it. Reluctantly, I took the plate.

"What is it?" I asked doubtfully. It looked like the kind of thing that Duo would have loved. The thought of him made my heart wrench.

"It will give you some energy," he said, not bothering to answer my question. That told me everything I needed to know, really. I sighed and bit into it, fighting back a grimace at the overly tart taste of apples and cinnamon. "Trowa said you've been at this for almost three hours. He instructed me to make you take a break half an hour ago."

"Then you're slipping," I mumbled into the pastry, enjoying the way he glared at me for my comment. Even though the pastry was really too sweet for my tastes, I finished it off quickly and accepted another cup of tea in its place. Wufei left, taking the plate with him, and I put the tea down on my nightstand. Then I put my head back against the headboard and looked up at the ceiling for a few minutes to give my eyes a rest from staring at the screen. It had been painted a plain white color and provided me with no inspiration whatsoever. I closed my eyes for a second.

My computer began to beep and I jumped. Pain shot down my neck and I muttered a curse, lifting a hand to the base of my neck and rubbing gingerly. The light had drifted across the room and was now shining on the other side of the bed. My cup of tea had gone cold and the covers had been drawn up to my shoulders, though my laptop was still resting on the bed beside me. I'd fallen asleep and Wufei hadn't bothered to wake me up. I sat up and grabbed my laptop, sweeping my finger across the mouse pad. The screen lit up and I saw that the tests had finished. Some of the results were reporting that several of the sisters had fairly lax security. As expected, they were the ones who didn't have much to do with the corporation.

I hunched over my computer and began working on Quatre's father and everyone who worked immediately under him. It made sense that they would contact Zayeed Winner before anyone else. He was also the one who had the tightest defences. The test had given me details on the security he had, and I worked my way through them carefully, using force when necessary, until the information I wanted was splayed out on the screen in front of me. It was a long list and I realized immediately how long it would take to go through it for a discrepancy. It was something I didn't have the time to do, not when it would take almost as long to hack into the other records.

I looked up, blinking. The room had darkened even more and Trowa was sitting beside my bed, reading by the light of the laptop screen. "That's bad for your eyes," I observed, my voice hoarse. My shoulders and back were aching from being bent over the screen. I stretched gingerly and rubbed the back of my neck again. "How long have you been there for?"

"Long enough," Trowa said. "Did you find something?"

"I have the cell phone records of Quatre's father. It's a long one," I said.

He understood immediately. "I'll wake Wufei. E-mail the list to him and he can look through it." He turned and went over to the connecting door, opening it and disappearing through it while I e-mailed the lists to Wufei. Once the e-mail was gone, I started in on the next part, feeling overwhelmed. I had roughly half a dozen more lists to try and hack my way into, but should I be looking at bank records instead? There was so much information out there and I didn't know where to start wading through it. The slightest misstep could cost Duo and Quatre their lives.

"That baka, making me worry like this," I said under my breath. If I closed my eyes, I could picture Duo so easily that it actually hurt to know that he wasn't beside me. I had been taught not to form emotional attachments, but apparently J's best efforts had failed. I would have given a lot to have had Duo beside me at that moment, to know that he was safe. We were both been pilots, and I could accept that we would see a fair amount of danger because of it, but there was a difference between a mission and being kidnapped.

Trowa came back into the room so quietly that he caught me sitting there with my eyes closed. "Maybe you should take a break," he suggested. I jumped and looked around at him to see that he was raising an eyebrow. "Go to sleep for a while."

"No. There's too much to do," I replied. "I was just trying to decide what I should hack into next, that's all."

"Heero, you can't help them if you push yourself to the limit," Trowa said. "You're going to collapse if you keep it up. I saw Duo after he let Shinigami out that time. He was exhausted and I know that you must be, too. Even if you protest, I can see it in your face." He studied me and I fought the instinctive urge to look away. I couldn't help wondering what exactly he was seeing. "It's almost four in the morning. Just go to sleep for a few hours and I promise I'll awake you up once Wufei is done looking through that list. We'll have a better idea of what to look for then."

It was amazing how he could make it sound so reasonable. Almost like my body was in agreement, I became aware of how very tired I was. The brief nap I had taken earlier had energized me for a little while, but it was like my energy levels were plummeting now that sleep was a distinct possibility. I looked down at my laptop. I hated to give into something like a desire to sleep. It had already been too long since they'd been taken and we had no idea what was going on. I wanted to push myself, to keep going until we had found something concrete to work with. Surely I could keep going for a little while yet?

Before I could say or do anything, Trowa took the decision out of my hands. He strode over to the bed and plucked my laptop away, pushing the top down and sliding it under his arm. He backed away quickly so that when I sprang up and reached for it, he was out of reach. Not that it really mattered. The world swam around me when I jolted upright and I froze, caught off guard. I would have fallen off of the bed entirely had Trowa not set the laptop down and reached for me, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me back down. I didn't even try to fight him. I was so dizzy that I was actually grateful for his touch because it gave me something concrete to hold onto when it felt like even the bed was shifting underneath me.

"See?" Trowa said, leaning over me. "Now you've gone and made yourself worse. If you get sick, Heero, we'll have to leave you behind once we figure out where Duo and Quatre are."

I growled under my breath, suddenly realizing that my hands had wrapped around his wrists. Without noticing I had been holding him in place. I released him immediately. "I'm not getting sick. I'm fine."

"Yeah, sure. Just go to sleep, alright?" He sat back down in his seat and picked up his book, no doubt planning to wait until I was actually asleep before he left. It seemed that the other pilots were getting to know me too well. Even on a mission, I might have been more willing to sleep if only to make sure I was alert enough to fight, but this was different. It was personal, and I fell asleep dreaming about having Duo in the bed beside me where he belonged.

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Please review!


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. Finally, we get a bit of action. Enjoy!

**Note:** Camp NaNo (you write 50,000 words in one month on a new original story, basically) begins today. I will do my best to keep my updates coming regularly, but six stories plus camp is insane, even for me. You're going to have to bear with me during June.

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Quatre was starting to lose it. Weird as it might sound to say that, I knew it was the truth. Every time he was hauled out of the cabin, he came back even angrier than before. I didn't know why. He wouldn't tell me. I was pretty sure that they weren't doing anything more than forcing him to speak to his sister, but then again, with these idiots it was impossible to be sure. I never went with him, not once. From the moment that we entered the cabin, Quat and I were never left alone. Even when they took me outside to use the bathroom, I had a constant guard and they left my wrists cuffed together. It was surprising. Most people tended to underestimate me because of how I looked, even Oz soldiers who knew that we were Gundam Pilots. These people weren't even soldiers, yet they knew enough to be cautious, and it was enough to make me wonder.

Normally handcuffs wouldn't have been a problem for me, but they were also still keeping me drugged. I suspected that Quatre was usually drugged as well but I generally wasn't lucid enough to ask by the time he came back. They had taken to waiting until he was out of the cabin to drug me, which meant that I was always half conscious by the time he returned, just barely there enough to appreciate the way he snapped and spat at our captors as he was forced inside. The inside of my right arm was gaining an impressive set of track marks and I was nauseous all the time. Food was the enemy because I couldn't keep anything down. Time was blurring into meaningless nothingness.

None of that stopped the dreams. Sometimes I had to force myself to wake up just to get away from them. I never understood them but they kept coming regardless. Often I dreamed of myself and Heero. We always looked the way we did now, but sometimes one or both of us would have wings. Mine were usually purple and his were blue. Sometimes even Quatre, Trowa, Wufei and a girl I didn't recognize were all there. The girl had dark hair and eyes like Wufei and she was always talking to him, teasing him, in a way that - surprisingly - Wufei bore with good grace. She seemed to be very familiar to him and in between dreams I wondered who she was and whether she had been born on Earth, too.

A cold touch to my arm made me jump. I blinked and realized that I was looking at the floor, since my head had been hanging limply against my chest, and my neck was starting to ache. I straightened, wincing, and saw that somehow Quatre had gotten free of his chains and was now standing in front of me. His eyes were wide with concern as he reached out and cupped my cheeks, gently tilting my head upwards. He pulled up his shirt and, after dampening the hem, used it to dab at my cheek. Pain exploded through the hazy numbness that had been surrounding me and I gasped, jerking instinctively backwards. I would have smacked my head on the wall had Quatre not tightened his grip and kept me from moving around.

"Hold still. I know it hurts but you have a lot of blood on your face and I need to see how bad it is," he said in a tense voice, dabbing more gently this time. After a moment, he leaned closer and inspected the damage. I didn't remember what could have caused it, but I figured at some point one of the losers had caught me in the face with their fist. Wouldn't be the first time and it probably wouldn't be the last at this rate. "Fuck, Duo. They really did a number on you. Did they hurt you anywhere else?"

I stared at him, shocked to hear Quatre of all people swearing. I couldn't remember the last time that had happened, if ever. "I don't remember," I said at last, looking down at myself for the first time. I had no memory of being attacked, but I could see from the state of my clothing that it must have happened. My shirt was ripped in several places and there were bruises visible through every rip. Some of them must have been wearing rings, because there were a few cuts that had bled. For the first time, I was glad that I was drugged, because I probably would have been in agony otherwise. "When did…?"

Quatre looked even more concerned than before, if possible. "They pulled you out of here two hours ago after I hung up on my sister." He gently tilted my head up further towards the light and sucked in a sharp breath. "They warned me that they would take anything I did out on you, but… I didn't know whether they were going to bring you back or not." His voice broke and I was alarmed to see tears in his eyes.

"Q, I'm fine," I told him. "I would much rather it be me than you, and you know I'm telling you the truth when I say that because I don't lie."

He smiled weakly at that and finally let my head go, but it was only so that he could wrap his arms around my chest and buried his face against my shoulder. More sharp pricks of pain breeched the fuzzy numbness, shooting up my shoulders and into my hands, but I tried to ignore it. Quatre was in need of comfort and I wanted to do what I could, even if the circumstances were preventing me from hugging him in return. I closed my eyes and dropped my chin onto the top of his head. His hair was soft against my cheek, like thin strands of silk.

"They didn't cuff me up again. I'm going to try to get you free, too," he mumbled into my chest. I didn't have the strength to argue. Like most people, the losers hadn't bothered checking my braid for weaponry, so my lock picks were still hidden. Quatre gently extracted them, doing his best to avoid unravelling my hair while he was at it, and started working on the cuffs. He didn't have much experience and so it was slow-going. I wondered if they would come back before he got me free and what would happen if they did. I tried not to think about it.

"Where did they go?" I asked.

"I don't know. After they brought you back in here, they just left." Quatre didn't look at me. It must have been hard for him to wait for those two hours. "I guess they thought you were so beat up that it wouldn't matter what they did."

Did I really look that bad? It concerned me that I had no memory whatsoever of this attack. The last thing I could clearly recall was Quatre being led out of the shack, and then they'd surrounded me and pricked my arm with another needle. There were so many drugs in my system that I didn't have a hope in hell of being able to successfully fight them all off. Then I'd fallen back into the dreams minutes after the burning solution was injected, and after that it was all a blur until Quatre had woken me up.

The cuffs clicked open without warning and I felt myself falling. Quatre grabbed me around the waist before I could hit the floor, supporting my weight. A gasp escaped as agony swarmed through me, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from crying out in pain. Muscles that I hadn't consciously moved in days protested any movement. Darkness swept over me, not drug-related this time, and by the time it cleared through sheer force of will I found myself half-sitting, half-lying on the floor with my upper chest resting against Quatre. He was stroking my hair and whispering apologies and nonsensical, soothing words against my head. The way his voice shook told me that he was crying.

"Are you alright?" he asked, touching my cheek with shaking fingers. "I'm so sorry, Duo. I had no idea… I wouldn't have…"

"I'm alright, really," I mumbled. The jolt of pain had helped to clear my head a little but I felt lethargic and sluggish. I didn't even know if my legs would hold me if I tried to stand. I knew our chance of escape was not high. "Quatre, maybe you should make a run for it. You're the one they really want."

"Don't even!" Quatre hissed, shifting so that he could glare into my eyes. "Stop right now, Duo. Allah only knows what they would do to you if I just left you here. They've already done this much." He touched my chest and I flinched. "If they didn't kill you out of rage, they would probably torture you until I gave myself up anyway. I would never leave you here by yourself so don't even think about suggesting it. You're my best friend. If we're going to do this, we go together or not at all!"

And there it was again - that flicker in his eyes that made me nervous. I knew what it meant and it made my heart rate pick up slightly. I couldn't decide if I should be egging his god on or trying to calm him down. If I knew what god he was, it would be much easier to know if releasing it would be a good idea, but I had no clue. "It was just a suggestion," I said lamely. "I'm going to slow you down a lot."

"I don't care." He stood up and walked over to the door, pressing an ear against it before he pulled away and tested the knob. It was locked, unsurprisingly, and I didn't think Quatre had the skills to pick it in the short amount of time we had left. I probably could have if I'd been at full strength, but my hands were shaking so badly that I doubted I could hold the picks, much less get them to function. I stayed silent and watched as he prowled around, occasionally running a hand over the wood, searching for possible weak spots. I wasn't sure if he would find any; despite the weathered appearance from the outside, the inside was surprisingly solid. But if anyone could find it, it would be Quat.

I must have fallen asleep watching him because I woke up to him standing over me, his hand resting on my shoulder. "Come on, Duo," he said gently. "I think I know what we're going to do. But you're going to have to help me."

"I can do that," I said. Or at least, I tried. It came out muffled and slurred, and his face wrinkled into a frown, but he must have got the gist of it because he grabbed me around the arms and pulled me to my feet. My legs gave way instantly and I would've landed on the floor had Quat not been behind me. He held me up and half-carried, half-dragged me over to a spot against the wall that was directly in front of the door. Anyone who came in would immediately notice that I wasn't chained up. I understood his plan immediately, knowing that he was intending on using me as a distraction.

"Just stay here, okay?" Q whispered, his breath brushing across my cheek as he panted. I tried to nod and nearly fell over. He pulled me back up and propped me up against the wall so that I didn't have to try and support myself. Then, and it shocked me, I felt lips on my forehead. No one that I could remember had kissed me there like tat since Sister Helen died, and it stunned me so much that I just sat still, frozen, as Quatre stood up and moved over to stand behind the door so that he wouldn't be noticed right away.

It didn't take long. A handful of minutes later, the lock shuddered and the knob turned before the door swung open to reveal Blue. For a moment he just stood there and looked at me. If he was surprised to see that I was free, it didn't show on his face. Actually, he seemed to be pleased. He was across the room in seconds, looming over me. I tried to focus enough to stare challengingly at him, but the world had gone fuzzy at the edges and I wasn't sure I was even looking in his direction. That changed when I felt his hand gripping my chin hard enough to hurt as he forcefully jerked my face up.

"I've been waiting for the chance to get you alone, you little bastard," he said. His breath stank of alcohol and a shudder ran down my spine. I'd heard that tone before. It used to haunt my nightmares when I lived on L2. Solo had made us understand early on what would happen if we were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even if you didn't offer yourself that way, there were people who were not averse to just taking what they wanted anyway. It was one of the reasons why we always went out in packs of at least three. For a moment it was just the two of us and my throat tightened in fear, but then he shifted a little to the right and I saw Quatre lingering behind him, waiting for the moment to strike. I took a deep breath and glared.

"Get the fuck away from me," I hissed. Anger was helping to clear my head temporarily and I lashed out at him, a lazy punch that he neatly dodged. Fuck but I wished that I dared let Shinigami out to play. He had been suspiciously silent during the past few days but I could feel him now, lingering beneath the surface, burning with rage. But I worried about what might happen afterwards, when his power left me weak and exhausted. I struck out again and this time managed a solid blow to his stomach. Blue doubled over slightly but recovered quickly.

"Bitch!" He slapped me across the face and that's when Quatre made his move like a streak of blonde vengeance, leaping across the room and taking him down in a tackle. There was no need for me to get up and help. Quat was truly vicious, pinning him to the ground and laying a series of calm but forceful punches into Blue's stomach, chest, and face. Blue tried to reciprocate but he was just no match, especially after Quatre found the knife that had been hidden underneath Blue's waistband. I couldn't see his face, but Blue could, and he squeaked in terror.

After that it was all over. One good thrust with the steel blade and he was dying. Neither of us spoke until he had stopped thrashing around. Quatre checked his pulse to make sure that he was dead and then sighed, the sound quiet in the small room. "Are you okay, Duo?" he asked finally. He had his back to me so that I couldn't see his face, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something about his voice didn't sound right.

"I'm fine," I said wearily, gingerly touching my cheek. I now had bruises on top of bruises and it hurt to talk. "Did he get you?"

"No." He stood up and turned to face me, and the second I got a good look at him I knew why Blue had been too scared to fight back. Quatre Winner had officially been taken over by his god. Staring back at me wasn't the usual warm, blue-green eyes of my best friend. His eyes had darkened and turned a deep pale green, like the color of the sea after a heavy storm. He also looked_ pissed_. I swallowed hard involuntarily, wondering if this was what the others had seen when Shinigami took over me. If so, it was a wonder they kept me around after.

"Quat? Are you okay?" My voice came out much higher-pitched than I would have preferred.

He looked at me and smiled. "There's no need to be afraid of me, brother," he said gently. "I'm not going to hurt _you_."

That didn't bode well for the people who had kidnapped us. Oddly enough, I couldn't find it in myself to care. He came closer to me, moving slowly, and reached down to take my hands. It was amazing how effortlessly he pulled me to my feet. Quatre had struggled with helping me to walk before, but not anymore. He wrapped an arm around my waist and tucked me against his side so that I had no choice but to lean against him. Truthfully, I was grateful for the help. I wasn't sure I would have been able to stand without it, much less walk, but I was concerned that my presence would put him at a disadvantage if we were ambushed.

"Maybe you should - "

"I don't want to hear it." He was calm, but there was that dark flicker again. "Let's go, Duo."

I stared at him, frustrated. God or not, it would have made more sense for him to have left me in the shack while he scouted the area for anyone else who might be watching and waiting. He would be able to move much faster alone; the idiots would never see him coming. I knew that from experience. As we were, I was a liability that could get us both killed. Yet I could tell that any attempts to argue would not go over well, so I fell silent and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. He shoved the door open and we stepped through together.

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Please review!


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Wow, thank you for all of the reviews. Hope you like this chapter just as much. Enjoy.

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The familiar dull beeping of my computer woke me out of a sound sleep. It was followed by the last thing I wanted to hear: J's voice calling my name. He didn't contact me face-to-face very often, usually preferring instead to send me e-mails that were safer and harder to trace. It was only when he was angry or had something particularly complicated for me to look after that he bothered to call. I sat up and looked around blearily for my laptop. It was sitting on a small table across the room, the top up. I pushed the covers back, realizing that someone must have tucked them around me while I was asleep, and stood. My legs only just managed to hold my weight; they felt weak under me as I hobbled across the room.

"I'm here," I croaked, realizing that my voice sounded harsh from disuse. I cleared my throat and sat down, turning the laptop so that it faced me. J looked furious, but that didn't bother me as much as it might have before. "I'm here," I repeated.

"I've been calling you for the past ten minutes!" J said, glaring at me. "Where have you been?"

"I was preoccupied," I said simply, not bothering to admit that I had been having a very nice dream wherein Duo and I had wings and we were flying over the mountains and seas. "What is it?"

"I have a mission for you. Another opportunity for you to take down that factory near the school," he told me. There was an undercurrent in his voice that told me exactly how annoyed he was that Duo and I had missed out on our mission in the first place. At one time that would have alarmed me, but right then I wanted nothing more than to slam the top of the laptop down and break the connection. He must have read something of my intent in my face because he scowled and said, "This is an important mission. The principal of that school has top-secret information that could turn the war in our favour, Heero. And that factory has been producing weaponry for years. It needs to be destroyed."

I took a deep breath and frowned at the screen, torn. Part of me wanted to ignore the mission and stage a rescue mission for Duo and Quatre. It wasn't what I had been taught, yes, but I had a nagging feeling that all five of us would need to be alive in order for the war to be won. We had been bred to be individual soldiers, but somehow we were stronger when we were together, and the whole "gods" thing was only serving to make that even more evident. If something happened to those two, it wouldn't bode well for anyone. But I didn't think J would understand that when I barely understood it myself.

"Understood," I said instead. "Send me the coordinates and mission plans and I will follow through."

J looked at me for a moment longer, face scrunched up, like he was trying to see through me. "Is there something you need to tell me, 01?" he asked. "You've been acting very suspiciously as of late. I'm starting to wonder if I should have chosen someone else."

It was a threat that J had often used against me as a child, and the idea of not being able to complete the missions that I felt I had been born for had been terrifying enough to make me submit to all kinds of procedures I might have otherwise protested. Strangely, it wasn't anymore. I was starting to see that there was more to this war than just J and me. It was bigger than all of us and had, possibly, been in the works for thousands of years. Regardless of whether J believed he had brought me into this, I knew that I would have been a part of it anyway. All of us would have. I didn't usually believe in things like destiny or fate, but that was just how it was.

"There is nothing I need to report to you," I replied, and that was the truth. J didn't need to know about the gods. None of the scientists did.

He didn't seem to be very convinced by my words, but he must have realized that nothing else would be forthcoming because he nodded. "Very well. I'm sending you the details right now. Do not fail me, 01. This mission is of critical importance."

The screen flickered and went dark. I glared at it and pushed the top down without bothering to look at the information that was coming through. J had always feared the day that I would begin ignoring his instructions, even though he'd never said as much. He'd tried his best to keep me under his thumb to prevent that from ever happening. That was one of the reasons he had taught me to be the so-called Perfect Soldier. Nothing should ever stop me from completing a mission. I thought about that and wondered if he realized that by teaching me that, he had given me the capacity to ignore his instructions as long as it was _about _a mission, even if it wasn't the one he had assigned.

"Will you go?"

I was unsurprised to hear Trowa's voice behind me. "I don't know," I said honestly, spinning around to face him. He was hovering in the doorway carrying a covered tray. "I know that I should, and my mind _is_ telling me that it's more important to think about the war. Duo and Quatre are both strong soldiers and they can get out of this without our help. But there is another part of me that says we should be helping them, and I justify it by thinking that without them we'll never win the war."

Trowa smiled and finally came into the room. He set the tray down in front of me and pulled the covering off to reveal that it was some kind of thick soup, along with a sandwich and a glass of water. "Someone wise once told me to follow my emotions," he said, sitting down across from me.

"I know." Mechanically, I dipped a spoon into the soup and brought it to my lips, barely noticing that it was almost too hot to eat. Was Trowa right? Should I be following my emotions and ignoring the mission J had sent to me until Duo and Quatre were safe? Or was I allowing myself to be foolishly sentimental and putting all of our efforts in danger? What was the right thing to do? Human attachments sure were a pain.

I ate the food and felt better by the time I was done, though I was no closer to a decision. I finally opened the laptop up and looked at what J had sent. It was pretty much the same as before, only this time Duo's part in the matter was noticeably absent. That told me J knew he'd been kidnapped and it started a low boil of anger in my stomach, though I tried to ignore it. The mission would take up to two weeks, as I wouldn't have the advantage of Duo's stealth when it came to getting the information from the principal or infiltrating the factory.

"What will you do?" Trowa asked again.

I didn't answer for a minute and I avoided meeting his gaze. Instead I scanned the details again, knowing that it was the kind of mission that had been designed for both of us. For me _and _my partner. It felt wrong to contemplate going without Duo, though I knew that if he had been around he would have been yelling at me for even _thinking_ about not going. That didn't matter, though. Somehow the baka had weaseled his way into me and I didn't think I could extract him if I tried. I shook my head and looked up at Trowa. There was only one decision I could make.

"I will go once we have rescued Duo and Quatre," I said, and as soon as the words were out, a feeling of relief swept over me. "J says that this is an important mission, so the sooner we have the two of them back where they belong the sooner Duo and I can get back to work."

Trowa grinned and I knew he approved of my decision. "If that's the case, then Wufei and I think we know where they are."

"You do?" My head snapped up and I stared at him intently, all thoughts of J forgotten.

"Yes, but whether or not you're coming with us remains to be seen," he replied, nudging the plate that held the sandwich closer to me. I'd eaten the soup while I was thinking and I wasn't really hungry anymore, but I picked the sandwich up reluctantly. "Tell me the honest truth, Heero, because I don't want you to be a liability if you come along with us. These people may be amateurs but they mean business." He frowned. "The media finally caught on to what happened at the cabin and it was reported that there was over fifty fatalities, not including the people that we took care of."

Fifty? The number turned my stomach. That was nearly all of the servants, which meant there must have been more bodies we hadn't seen. It was one thing to kill for war, but I would never understand people who found joy in killing for fun or profit. There was no happiness to be found in watching someone's life draining away. "I can come," I told him firmly. I would have said that regardless, as there was no way they were going without me after that piece of information, but it was the truth. I was still tired, more so than I was used to, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been. I was confident that I could do the mission with no problems.

"Alright. Wufei checked into the father's cell phone records. We found one suspicious call that was re-routed to one of his daughter's phones. Iria Winner. She's important. Makes a lot of decisions for the Winner family, so I decided to look into her. I was able to trace the steps you used to hack into Zayeed's records and do the same for hers. She's been getting regular phone calls from a similar source. They've made an effort to hide their tracks by bouncing the signal off of multiple towers and it seems to be working because there's been no mention of a rescue effort yet." He looked up at me. "But I'm getting worried, Heero. The calls have been getting shorter every time."

"Do you think she's refusing to give them what they want?" I asked.

"Wufei did a little extra research into the Winner family. It seems that Zayeed is infamous for refusing to bow to anyone," he replied grimly, tossing some folders down on the table. I picked them up and flipped through them. Most of the papers were documentation about lawsuits that had been brought against the Winner family over the years. Zayeed Winner had fought every single one, no matter how small or insignificant, and in most cases the plaintiff just gave up rather than try to win against someone who had the ability to drag things out for years. The rest of the documents were computer print-outs of articles that had been written detailing Zayeed's infamous 'my way or the highway' attitude. No wonder Quatre never talked about his family.

"This doesn't bode well," I muttered, my stomach tightening. If Zayeed was refusing to give the kidnappers what they wanted there was no telling what might have happened. "You think that he might have told Iria Winner not to give in to their demands?"

"You know that Quatre doesn't speak to his father. They had a falling out," Trowa told me. "From what he told me, Zayeed doesn't want anything to do with him right now. I think that's exactly what would have happened. He probably didn't even alert the police to the fact that Quatre was gone. And there's something else, Heero. I think we know who those people are."

I took the second folder he was holding out and flipped through it. My stomach tightened and everything I had just eaten threatened to reappear at what I was seeing. The Winner family was extremely well known throughout all of the colonies and on Earth. They were very influential and had a great deal of money. But according to what I was seeing, Zayeed Winner hadn't always made intelligent decisions with that money. These were stories of everything from illegal firings to people who had been stepped on in the name of progress. Most concerning of all were the threatening letters that had been written to the man; some of them were enough to make me cringe. If I had been Zayeed Winner, I would have been locking my door every night.

"You think one group wrote all of these, and these people are the ones who kidnapped Duo and Quatre?" I said weakly, lingering over a particularly graphic letter that expressed, in great detail, what the writer wanted to do to Zayeed. The writer had been surprisingly creative. I hadn't known that you could do those kinds of things with a regular kitchen knife.

Trowa nodded and didn't say anything else. He didn't have to. I could see the look of misery mingled with fear in his eyes. This was beyond anything we had dealt with before. It was one thing to fight against Oz, to deal with soldiers, even those who had been trained in the sophisticated art of torture and interrogation. We had been prepared against that kind of thing as much as possible: I might have undergone the most training but I knew the others had experienced some as well. But this? This wasn't interrogation or even torture. This was murder, plain and simple, from people who enjoyed it. I remembered the impressions I had been left with after the god had taken over and I'd seen into that man's mind before I killed him. My stomach twisted violently.

I lurched to my feet and ran in the direction of the bathroom. It took me a mere moment to lose everything I had just consumed. The images of Duo and Quatre having suffered everything that had been written in that letter haunted me as I bent over the toilet. And that was just _one_ letter. There had been more. Not even soldiers could be this depraved. I stood up and drew the back of my hand over my mouth as I moved back to the doorway. Trowa hadn't moved and I was grateful for that. It gave me a moment to regain my bearings as I walked slowly back to the table and sat down, my mind racing a mile a minute.

"If they try to escape..." I said, closing the folders. I had no interest in reading any more. These people were a danger to everyone around them, that much was obvious. I had no idea how they hadn't come to the attention of the police or Zayeed's bodyguards before now. Why hadn't someone dealt with them? I'd never really paid much attention to the judicial or police systems but this was making me doubt them. Had they really just ignored these warnings and dismissed them as not being a threat? It was infuriating. I bet that if Zayeed was the one who had been kidnapped, they would have been doing everything to get him back. Yet because it was his estranged son, they were ignoring the matter.

"If they try to escape, there's a good chance it could set them off," Trowa concluded, having come to the same place as me. "Wufei has been getting the supplies ready. We know their location and it's unlikely that the group will try to move Quatre or Duo at this point. Once they get fed up with waiting for an answer, they're going to just follow through on their threat." His eyes dropped to the folders and I noticed his hands were shaking before he laced his fingers together. "We have to get there first, Heero."

"And we will." I stood up and grabbed the folders, taking them into the bathroom. I threw them into the sink and watched in the mirror as Trowa came in holding a pack of matches. Where he'd gotten them, I didn't know, but he didn't hesitate to strike one and throw it in on top of the folders. It felt good to watch the flames curl over the papers. I had a vague idea that the same thing would happen to the people that had dared to kidnap my brother and my lover. Any wounds on either one of them would be paid back in full.

"Heero..." Trowa's voice was hushed.

I looked up, into the mirror. My eyes were normally a medium blue color. Now, I saw, they had darkened to nearly black. It seemed to fit, considering the rage that was humming through my body. I wanted to find and bring destruction and vengeance down on those who had taken what did not belong to them. I wanted to cause war and be the winner; I wanted to cause them pain like they had never known. I took a deep breath, clenching my fingers into the marble countertop even as my mind was racing, following every line of thought, coming up with the best and safest way for us to approach them without causing trouble for anyone. It was probably dangerous to let the god out so soon, especially after it had exhausted me last time, but I was unable to press it back entirely. The presence burned in the back of my mind.

"Let's go," I said, and my voice was gravelly, harsher than usual. Trowa shivered but he was smirking.

"I'll get Wufei," he said.

I turned the water on to take care of the last vestiges of the small fire. In the curling flames, I imagined I could Duo's face. He was waiting for me and I would be coming for him, and the people who taken them had best hope that the other gods would be watching out for them by the time that we got there, because War and Death and our brothers would not be inclined to mercy.

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Please review!


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. Please enjoy!

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The harsh bright light stung my eyes after several days in a dark, enclosed space. I flinched and held onto Quatre as he pushed up both through the doorway. As far as I could see, the grounds looked deserted, but I knew that appearances could be deceiving. The forest was close and it would be all too easy for people to hide out there, waiting until we let our guard down. Quatre seemed to be thinking the same thing. He set me down outside the door and forced a knife into my hands before he took off for the forest, moving so swiftly that I didn't have a chance to tell him to come back. I held the knife loosely, watching for him, but for someone with blond hair he blended in well with the trees.

In the span of minutes it took for him to find anyone who might have been hiding nearby, I took a quick catalogue of my injuries, such as they were. I was pretty sure nothing was broken, which was a definite bonus. I ached all over and I'd definitely pulled some muscles. Bruising was especially heavy on my stomach, back and sides where they'd concentrated the beating. That was also where I had the most cuts, so some of them must have been wearing rings. One of my ankles was swollen (I noticed when I tried to stretch my legs out and my foot dragged against the ground) and my hands were still tingly and numb from being tied up for so long. If someone tried to attack me, I'd have a hard time fighting back.

The sound of screaming made me jump, and then I doubled over, groaning as my stomach sent up warning flares that strongly cautioned me against moving. I looked at the woods nervously as the sound intensified. It sounded like someone was being tortured, and while I was no novice to that, I couldn't help wondering if there was something or something other than Quatre out there. I wanted to call out to him and make sure that he was still alright, but I knew better. It would draw attention to our position, specifically me, if there were guards around. Instead I swallowed, my throat dry, and tensed as the bushes began to rustle. As it turned out, I didn't have to worry, because the man who came flying out was in no position to attack me.

It was Tanned. I recognized him instantly, having been in close proximity to him for the better part of a few days. He was clutching at his head and shrieking in pain, body practically convulsing. I pulled my legs up against my chest, starting at him in what I'm sure was open revulsion. Behind him, the bushes parted again and Quatre stepped out. He had a smile on his face that made my blood run cold - dark and angry, twisted, like he was trying to cleave the man open through the force of his glare alone. I was thankful I wasn't the one he was glaring at.

"Quatre? What did you do to him?" I squeaked, not sure whether I should be staring at Tanned or at Quatre. It was hard to take my eyes off of Tanned. It was like being at the scene of a car accident. You know you shouldn't be watching, but you can't help it. Shinigami shifted inside of me and I felt a chill creep down my spine. Suddenly I could tell that Tanned was close to death. Very close. I didn't know how I knew, but I did. "Quatre, stop it. Quatre!" My voice grew louder when he didn't react, and I wondered if he could hear me at all. "Quatre, please!"

His hand snapped up and Tanned's convulsions stopped. His body flopped over on the ground and I heard shallow, rasping breaths being drawn in and out with a faint rattling sound. Quatre stepped closer to him and reached down, curling his fingers into Tanned's collar. "Where are the others?" he asked, sounding completely unaffected. "Tell me what I want to know and I'll make it stop."

Tanned gurgled something unintelligible and whimpered. The acrid scent of piss wafted over to me and I wrinkled my nose. He didn't seem to have the coordination required to string two words together, much less respond. Quatre sighed and opened his hand, dropping him on the ground. Tanned hit the grass and didn't move. I knew he wasn't dead, but he was only a few minutes away. An hour at the most. Whatever the god had done to him had caused irreparable damage that not even the world's best doctors would have a chance at fixing.

"Humans can be so annoying," Quatre said, turning to look at me. His face softened immediately and he looked more like my friend, though his eyes remained dark. "Are you alright, little brother?"

"I… I'm fine." I cleared my throat, not liking how squeaky that came out, and tried again. "What... what did you do to him, exactly?"

He smiled and moved over to kneel next to me, ignoring the body. "The god of war can invoke feelings of rage in humans," he said, taking the knife from my hands. The metal glinted, reflecting the light of the late afternoon sun. "He releases the darkest emotions that exist in all of them and drives them into an insane frenzy. I can do so much more. I manipulate emotions. I can persuade people to do whatever I want." His voice remained sinfully soft and I was very aware of the fact that he was holding a sharp knife. "I can cause the most intense pain or the highest of pleasures, and it would take me no more than the blink of an eye to do so. The power is strong and you've no doubt noticed that it has bled over into this body."

Quatre's space heart, I realized in a flash of understanding. In his mortal form, he could sense the feelings of others, but he couldn't change or manipulate them. It appeared his god had no such problems. I wasn't ready to think about what all this meant. My head was starting to ache and I was having trouble keeping thinks straight. I sought for a change of subject and settled on, "Did you find anyone else?"

If he was surprised by my question, he didn't show it. "Not yet. I believe that our guards thought they had finally beaten us into submission and that they didn't need to watch us as closely. The rest of them appear to have temporarily left the grounds. I expect they'll be returning soon."

"Really?" I was delighted. "That's fantastic. Come on, let's take our chance and get out of here."

"No."

"No?" I echoed cluelessly. "What do you mean no?"

"I'm not leaving until I see the rest of them," he replied, settling back against the wall. I couldn't believe it. He was getting comfortable, like he wasn't planning on going anywhere! He must have registered the expression on my face because he looked at me and sighed. "Duo, these people kidnapped you and my mortal form," he said very patiently. "There have also committed grievous sins amongst many other humans. I know that the god of death may not see anything wrong with that, considering that all humans end up in your arms eventually, but - "

"No, I do," I said, holding up a hand to make him stop. I was so surprised I hardly knew where to begin, but finally I went with, "Do you think me so heartless? That I wouldn't care about other people?"

His eyes flicked towards me and then away. "As the god of death, it becomes difficult for you to remain objective," he allowed, brushing a strand of golden hair out of his face. "Like I said, the humans all end up in your realm eventually. So what difference does it make whether or not they arrive sooner rather than later? It has never been your responsibility to be concerned about their beginning or the middle, only the end. Don't feel poorly for what has been a reasonable choice on your part in the past."

The way he was talking was a little disturbing. It was like he saw no difference between me and Shinigami... like we were one solid entity. It sent chills down my spine and I had to gather myself together before I could speak. "But you are."

"Yes," he said patiently. "It is my responsibility. I am a god of emotion, in some form or another, and humans only have those while they are alive. Once dead they become so very boring."

I forgot myself for a moment and rubbed my aching head. It was, I was quickly discovering, nearly impossible to argue with a god. For one thing, they didn't seem to see the world the way humans do. Humans were all so inconsequential for them. I was a little disturbed to think that at heart, Shinigami was the same way. "So what will you do to them?" I asked warily. "When they come back? Will you kill them?"

"If they're fortunate," he said pleasantly. His head lifted suddenly and he looked off into the distance, alert. "I think... Yes, that would be the first wave of them now. They've gotten nervous. Come on, brother. It's not safe for us to stay here." He leaned down and grabbed my arm, sliding it around his shoulders, and pulled me to my feet. The wave of pain that struck me made my knees go weak and I nearly pulled us both back down. He covered my mouth, muffling my cry, and held still for a moment while I tried to deal with it. Fuck. FUCK. I hadn't hurt this much since I was seven years old and me and one of my gang mates were stupid enough to get cornered by a rival gang on their territory.

"Shh. Come on, just a little further." He stroked a hand over my hair and slowly we moved towards the house. Every step made something else hurt. I started wishing he was the god of healing. I could have used a few painkillers right about then. "You won't have to do anything, I promise," he whispered into my ear. "All you'll have to do is sit and watch."

I wondered if this was what it was like to have an older sibling, or possibly, a parent. Even though there was rage shining in his eyes, his grip on my shoulders remained gentle as he sat me down on the porch. Once again I was clearly visible to anyone who drove up and I hoped that this god was as good as he seemed to think that he was. I might have been a god of death but I had no interest in dying so soon. Still, I wanted to be as helpful as possible, so I sat there and waited, knife in hand, while he went into the house. When I heard the screaming coming from inside, I was glad that I hadn't gone in.

An odd thing happened as I sat there. I knew that people were dying inside and it was like I could feel the life leaving their bodies. Occasionally I would feel a soft brush against my cheek, like something had flown by me, and then there would be a wispy fragment of something drifting up into the sky. I watched them, fascinated, as the screaming gradually died down into an eerie silence. The fragments stopped coming and I shivered, curling in on myself. What the hell were we doing here?

I fingered my cross and looked back at the sky, noticing that the fragments had all disappeared. Had I really seen people's souls escaping their bodies or was I hallucinating? My head was beginning to throb quite badly and I could feel blood trickling down the nape of my neck. When I touched my throat, my fingers came away stained with blood. I grimaced and wiped it on my shorts, shifting the knife to my other hand. It was a solid, heavy weight and it felt good to hold onto it even though I doubted anyone was going to make it past Quatre.

Well, in a way I was right. Someone didn't, but something did. A low growling made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I twisted and swallowed at the sight of a dog standing right behind me. It was a large thing, almost entirely black, with deep-set eyes that were staring at me. Its mouth was curled back revealing long, sharp teeth that were entirely too close for my comfort. I shifted back and then, using the railing on the steps, pushed myself to my feet. It fucking hurt but I tried to ignore the pain, swaying slightly, and held up the knife.

"Back off," I said softly. "I don't wanna hurt you, pal, but if you come any closer that's exactly what will happen."

The dog growled low in its throat and shifted closer a step. I was tensing myself in preparation of an attack when I heard a high, sharp whistle coming from down the lane. The dog froze and looked away from me, staring intently through the darkness. When the whistle came again, it forgot all about me and bounded down the steps, barking pleasantly. My legs gave out on me and I crumpled to my knees with a groan of pain, wondering if it would be back as someone whistled for a third time. Who _was_ that?

"Ah," a voice said behind me. It was Quatre, holding the collar of one of the man who had greeted us on the first day and then condemned us to the little hut. He didn't look quite so high and uppity now, though. His face was an ashen color and he was swaying, eyes looking at things only he seemed to be able to see. Quatre hauled the man effortlessly through the doorway and pushed him down the steps. "Stay there," he commanded. "Do not move or I shall know."

The man collapsed onto the ground and curled into a ball, whimpering. Quatre moved down the steps and across the yard. I wondered who was coming that he could seem so calm at their arrival. I wasn't expecting to see Trowa, Wufei and Heero, the latter leaning heavily against the former, coming around the corner, the black dog bouncing placidly around their feet. They hadn't made any attempt at stealth and I could tell at a glance that only Trowa seemed to fully capable of fighting. He was in the lead carrying a gun, but he dropped his arm to his side when he saw Quatre and a small smile broke out across his lips. Still, even though he seemed pleased, he didn't approach and I thought the move wise. If anyone would see the differences and know what they meant right away, it was Trowa.

"Hello," Quatre said, tilting his head and smiling.

"Hello," Trowa replied. "You've been busy."

"I have." Quatre nodded and clasped his hands behind his back. "They tried to kidnap us, you know. They had to be taught a lesson."

"And did you? Teach them a lesson, I mean."

"Oh yes." I didn't have to be looking at him to know there was a decidedly evil smile on his face. "Humans are so easy to manipulate. I never did understand why they make it such a point to differentiate themselves from your area, Darling. It all seems so simple to me. Humans, animals… they're all so very much the same." He folded his arms and pouted. "When they get corrupted they overstep their bounds. They were torturing our brother."

That brought their attention to me. Heero swore and stood up straight, immediately walking towards me and leaving Trowa and Wufei to deal with the crazy god behind him. I had to dig my hands into the steps to keep myself from jumping up, regardless of how much it would hurt, and throwing myself into his arms. Seeing him brought back all of my dreams, especially the ones where we had been flying over lakes and the mountains and it had just been the two of us, peaceful and happy and free. It struck me for the first time how much I wanted that to become a reality.

He stopped in front of me and looked at me closely, no doubt mentally cataloguing every injury. "Status?" he said finally.

"I'll survive," I said, not wanting to detail every injury at the moment. We'd be here all night and that was just the ones I knew about. "You? You're not hurt?" There were lines of fatigue in his face that weren't familiar to me, and even now I could see that just standing in front of me was taking a toll.

"My god came out to play after you were kidnapped," he replied.

Ah, that explained it. I summoned up a playful smile. "Fun, isn't it?"

Heero looked at me for a long time and then snorted, shaking his head. He held a hand down to me and I grabbed it, allowing him to pull me up. "Baka," he muttered into my ear, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding onto me so tightly it hurt. I threw my arms around his shoulders and held on, not even caring about the pain. It just felt good to be back with Heero again.

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Please review!


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** A bit more action in Heero's side of the story. Enjoy!

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We left Kin in the hotel room and took the car. Trowa had researched the forest and had pinned down a few places where he thought they might have taken Quatre and Duo. While we drove, the three of us tried to come up with some sort of plan. It was easier said than done. Normally we didn't go into missions blind; the doctors were there to provide us with all of the information we needed to know in order to make informed decisions. This time we had nothing beyond the knowledge that these people were dangerous and wouldn't hesitate to injure or kill if they felt they were being threatened. It wasn't much and we didn't have time to make a close study. We'd be going in blind and that was dangerous.

"If they're here, we could circle around using that path and come up behind them." Wufei pointed to a spot on the map I was holding. I was pretty sure he'd suggested that a half hour ago but I couldn't even remember for sure anymore. My head had gone fuzzy and I was getting tired of looking at a map that wasn't helping at all.

"Whatever we do, we have to be careful," Trowa said, looking at us in the rear view mirror. "We don't have many weapons and they're probably going to be ready for some kind of attack. Zayeed Winner doesn't take kindly to being threatened. If he hadn't fallen out with Quatre he likely would have sent in a professional security team by now. That's probably what they were expecting." He sounded amused and I knew why. They would wish that it had been professionals by the time we were through with them.

Wufei took the map from me, balancing it awkwardly on his knee. "What are the chances that Shinigami or Quatre's god would have come out?" he asked, looking up at me.

I blinked, startled by the question, and considered it. "I don't think Shinigami would have," I said. My instinct was to say that I would have known if Shinigami was out and about, but I didn't know that for certain so I bit it back. Instead, I added, "It's exhausting and I don't think Duo would've wanted to risk that depending on their situation. Quatre, on the other hand..." I shrugged. Quatre could be a bit of a loose wire sometimes. He could be calm and reasonable on the outside with no sign that he was really a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. There was no telling what he might have done if he felt that the two of them were in danger, especially Duo.

"Do you even know what Quatre's god can do?"

I shrugged again. "No clue. I didn't even know what mine could do until a couple of days ago," I reminded him. Sometimes I felt like I still had no idea what mine could do.

"I have my suspicions," Trowa said simply and he didn't share any more than that. Wufei and I looked at each other and then we both bent over the map at the same time.

We drove in silence for another couple of hours. By the time we got to the woods I was itching for a battle. I could feel the rage from the god simmering beneath the surface, searching for a way to escape, giving me extra energy and incentive. I held Duo's gun on my knee, stroking it with the pads of my fingers. Wufei was staring out the window, and I could see from the reflection in the window that his face was set into grim lines. His arm was being held closely to his body and I wondered if it was paining him. He wouldn't have admitted if it was, not even if the pain was agonizing.

"I think we're almost there." Trowa broke the silence as he turned the car off of the main road and onto an old dirt road that badly needed to be paved. We were bouncing around and I heard Wufei swear softly as his arm was jarred a few times. I threw out a hand and grabbed his good shoulder to steady him.

"You don't know anything else about this organization," I said, just to be sure.

"We know they're armed and dangerous, Heero," he replied, stopping the car suddenly. We were no where near any of the spots we'd indicated on the maps but I knew why he had. We all stared through the windshield. Just visible by the car's headlights was a truck. Brand new, sleek, familiar. One of the Winner's cars: I recognized the license plate. There was a dog chained in the back. It was watching us with eerie gold eyes but didn't bark.

Trowa opened his door and got out, one hand sliding into the back of his jeans to pull out his gun. He took a few steps closer, tense and ready to fire if necessary. The dog shifted at his approach but wagged its tail when Trowa put a cautious hand out for it to sniff. Wufei looked at me and then we reached for our doors at the same time. The night air was surprisingly cool and I shivered as I made sure that I had everything necessary on me: Duo's gun, my gun, and a small set of knives that I'd borrowed from Duo's bag. Normally I didn't carry that kind of weaponry but it was better than nothing if I lost my gun.

"Where do you think they went?" I muttered to Wufei, not really expecting an answer. Something about the forest felt wrong. The hair on the back of my neck rose. There was a strange stiffness to the air and I realized that we weren't hearing any animals moving around, not even any birdcalls. I heard a branch break in the forest behind me and dropped instinctively, dragging Wufei with me. He landed hard on his injured side but I didn't have time to make sure he was alright, no when there was bullets flying over our heads. I rose up and fired, smirking at the resulting shout of pain from the forest. I'd hit someone, though I didn't know if it had been a kill shot. It was hard to tell when it was dark. I ducked down again and turned to face Wufei.

"Shit!" he growled without waiting for me to ask how he was doing, clutching at his shoulder and grimacing. "Next time give a little warning, Yuy. I think you might have opened a couple of stitches."

I grimaced at the thought and switched my gun to my opposite hand. "Sorry, Wufei."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't apologize for saving my life," he said, the gruffness fading away almost immediately. "Where's Trowa? Is he alright?"

It was a good question, one that I wasn't sure how to answer. I pressed my back to the car and tried to look around. We were at a disadvantage because they were hidden in the forest and we didn't know their position. With the car's headlights on, it was like we had painted a giant red circle around us. I grabbed onto the driver's door and hefted myself up to the point where I could reach into the car and yank the key out. The headlights went out instantly, plunging us into darkness as well. Immediately, I felt better, more centered and like we were on a more level playing ground.

It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but eventually I was able to make out the forest and Wufei, who was still crouched next to me. I'd only heard a few shots and I was hoping that Trowa was still in one piece. "You up for this?" I asked.

"Always," Wufei replied, reaching for his side. I hadn't noticed before that he had his katana lashed to his belt, a constant companion that he could fall back on when things became truly difficult. I nodded at him and eased myself into a crouched position. I groped around until I found a small rock. It was the oldest tricks in the book, but sometimes those were the best ones. I tossed the rock lightly, aiming for a spot a few feet away from us so it would seem like we were making a run for the woods. It landed and I heard the sharp cackle of guns immediately. Orange sparks lit the darkness and I aimed, shot and fired before our attackers realized they'd given us a lock on their position. Beside me, Wufei shot as well, and I heard twin choked cries emerging from the forest.

"I'm going to circle around," I muttered. I didn't wait for him to nod in agreement. Instead, I just stood and started scuttling towards the nearby brush, moving as silently as possible. I still maintained I'd never be as quiet as Trowa but I didn't do half bad. At the very least, they never heard me coming. I shot two men in the back and lifted their guns and extra ammunition before moving on. My heart was racing but for the first time in days I felt completely calm and focused.

Branches and leaves passed under my feet and I breathed slowly and shallowly as I tilted my head to listen. The forest was still silent, lacking any animal sounds, but that was working to our advantage. I could hear someone breathing to my left. I turned, gun heavy in my hand. If I shot, I risked alerting the sentry. Better to sneak up on whoever it was. I slipped closer and tackled the person, bringing them down to their knees. It was a woman, I could tell right away. She fought, aiming fists into my weak spots. I received a few good blows on my stomach and around my kidneys before I pinned her down, slamming her hands against the ground on either side of her head and using my legs to pin her thighs.

"Where are they?" I hissed into her face.

There was just enough light from the moon to be able to tell that she was glaring at me. "Fuck off," she hissed, writhing in order to try and escape.

"That's not what I wanted to hear." Ruthlessly, I tightened my grip on her right wrist and kept squeezing even when she let out a low gasp of pain and struggled more desperately. I was stronger than most humans and her thin, fragile bones felt like glass beneath my fingertips. I saw the look of fright that passed over her face when she realized that I wasn't going to stop. Seconds later a thin crack echoed through the clearing and she bit her lips to hold back the scream, though a thin whimper escaped. I narrowed my eyes, unmoved by her pain, and repeated, "Where are they?"

"There's a house," she said raggedly, glaring up at me. "It's about a twenty minute drive up the road. You'll miss the turn if you're not watching for it. The road's not paved. It's crushed rock. But it will take you to the house, and behind it is the shack where your friends are being kept."

I stared down at her. "If you've lied to me about anything, I'll find you," I said flatly. "And I will kill you. Believe me when I say that I've picked up some very interesting ways to get rid of my enemies."

She turned white and didn't react when I lifted my hands off of her arms. I gripped her head and slammed it back against the ground. The angle was just right; her eyes rolled up and she fell unconscious. I searched her for weapons and discovered that she had only a large, wicked-looking knife. It had been jammed into her pants. I could hardly believe that she'd been so callous. One stumble and she would've severed the artery in her thigh. People could be incredibly stupid sometimes. I shook my head and took the knife with me as I moved on, leaving her unconscious on the ground. If she woke up before the animals got over their fear, good for her. If not, well, she deserved what she got.

I continued walking through the woods, searching for anyone else stupid enough to have tried sneaking up on us. But I didn't find anyone. Either there wasn't anyone, or they were all smart enough to have taken off running when they realized that we knew they were there. I circled around and went back to the car, where I found Wufei holding onto a rifle. He was examining it, sliding his fingers over the trigger and peering through the lenses. I arched an eyebrow at him, wondering if he knew that he was holding a fine piece of machinery. It was expensive, that was for sure, and had probably cost whoever had owned it a fair amount of money.

"Where'd that come from?" I asked, tossing the knife down on the ground beside him.

"Sniper," he replied in a bored tone, willingly handing the rifle over. Its weight felt solid in my arms when I hefted it up to my shoulder. Heavier than I expected, but good. "He was stupid enough to stand up for better aim and apparently didn't realize that doing so would allow the light of the moon to reflect off of the glass. I took him down with an easy shot."

I smirked, remembering the folders I'd seen. They had sickened me at the time but now I was understanding that while this organization was full of idiots who liked torture and pain, they didn't have the slightest idea of what they were doing when it came to terrorists and soldiers. Good. That would put us in the driving seat. I checked the rifle and discovered that it was full. No rounds had been shot. I picked up the knife and put it and the rifle in the trunk of the car. Then I added the guns I'd taken from the first two men I'd shot and the extra ammunition. Wufei had another two guns and a few extra packs to add. He'd stripped the sniper of everything the man had and no one else had come around the car.

"Seen Trowa?" I asked.

"I heard yelling coming from over there," he replied, looking closely at the knife. "This is very good quality," he murmured. "The steel is very thin and seems delicate but it's probably strong enough to carve through bone if necessary. See that?" He angled the knife. In the light of the moon, I saw ripples of pale blue passing over the blade. "That means it was forged on L1 a long time ago."

I looked at it with more respect. Maybe that woman would be upset if she realized I'd taken it. I hoped so. "Can you fight with it?"

"I'm better with my katana, but in a pinch..." He tossed it lightly up in the air and caught it by the handle. "Duo or Trowa would probably be a better bet, though."

We heard the footsteps coming at the same time and both of us tensed, but it was only Trowa. He walked over to us without saying a word and tossed a few more things into the trunk: three guns, another knife that appeared to be of the same quality as the one I'd found only the blade was covered in blood, and several rounds. "Let's go," he said shortly, turning to get into the car. "It's getting late."

I got into the front seat this time, still holding the knife. The gun I jammed into my waistband. I told Trowa what the woman had said and he nodded tersely, shifting the car into gear. He drove down the road until the headlights picked up on the beginning of what may have been a dirt road. There were bushes falling over the entrance, and honestly we probably would have driven right by it if we hadn't been looking for it. By unspoken, mutual agreement, Trowa parked and the three of us got out. I held the knife in one hand and put my other hand on the gun.

There was a large collection of cars at the end of the driveway; we'd have company. Trowa advanced in front and got off a clean shot before a sentry noticed he was there. The man toppled silently to the ground, dying before he had the chance to even scream. I slit the throat of another, not wanting to use any more of my bullets up unless I had to. He crumpled and stared up at me with wide, accusing eyes, one hand clasped to his neck. I ignored him and moved on. I wasn't expecting him to reach out and grab at my ankle. I stumbled, feeling something wrench, and heard a shot behind me. Wufei tucked his gun back into its holster and shook his head.

"Be more careful," he chided.

I frowned at him and tried to take a step. The resulting spark of pain surprised even me. It ran up my leg and paralyzed my knee and thigh muscles. I would've fallen to my knees but Wufei grabbed me, wrapping my arm around his shoulder. From somewhere ahead of us, I heard the sound of a sharp, high-pitched whistle. Trowa. We moved forward, walking in tandem. Trowa didn't look back at us, but he whistled again, and in the distance I heard barking. A huge dog emerged from the darkness and I tensed, but it ignored us entirely, running to Trowa and sitting down in front of him with a happy whimper. Trowa patted it absently on the head and stepped forward as a slim figure appeared out of the darkness. Quatre.

And beyond him, Duo. I forgot the pain in my ankle as I went to him. I didn't remember what I said to him, only hauling him off of the steps and into my arms. He was in rough shape, with bruising all over his body, but he clung to me with all of his strength. It felt so good to hold onto him and know that he was still with me. I pressed a kiss to his forehead and ran my hand across his cheek and down his chest, cupping his cross briefly before letting go. I'd never been so afraid that I wouldn't see him again.

"I'm glad you're alright," I whispered.

He smiled playfully, though I could see weary pain in his eyes. "Me too, Hee-chan."

"Ready to get out of here?" I took his hand and pressed his gun into it. His eyes widened a little and then he sighed, hefting the familiar weight with ease.

"That may be easier said than done," Wufei muttered behind me. He sounded tense and when I looked up I understood why.

We had company.

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Please review!


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. Someone mentioned they were concerned that I would begin writing all chapters from both points of views. That won't happen. The story will be moving along more quickly and you can expect a time jump in a couple of chapters. Enjoy!

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The weight of my gun was heavy in my hand. Heero's hands tightened on my shoulders, and although it hurt, I didn't tell him to let go. Now that I was paying attention, I could see that we'd been surrounded. There were several men and women, each holding a gun, standing in a rough circle around us. Judging by the scent of pine and the needles that clung to their clothing, they had come out of the forest. I tensed, wanting nothing more than to bring my gun up and shoot Shorty through the eyes. He was smirking at me, holding a rifle between both of his pudgy hands, and looking like he'd enjoy nothing more than using it on the five of us.

"Though you could just walk away, huh?" The woman who had been calling the shots on the first day stepped forward. She was holding a gun in one hand and a small box in the other. There were two prongs attached to the end of it, and it didn't take a scientist to guess that it was actually a taser. "Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Your father hasn't paid his restitution yet."

"If you were waiting for Zayeed Winner to pay you anything, you will have a long wait," said Quatre. His eyes had gone from warm to cool in a split second. This was the longest I'd seen anyone's god stay in control and I wondered how much longer he would be able to bear it. If he collapsed, it would put the rest of us at risk. There was no way we would even consider leaving him behind. He continued, "That man will never bend to or for anything, not even me, and I'm his son. If you were looking for a way to get money you would be better off elsewhere. He'll never give in to you, not even if you were threatening his _own_ life, much less mine."

"It's not about you!" she hissed, sounding outraged. "It's not about the money, you little brat. Do you _know_ what he's done? Do you even care? The amount of lives that he has destroyed… and more, every day! Without the slightest bit of concern for anyone who isn't on his social standing! And then…" she huffed out a sarcastic laugh. "He doesn't even want to help with the war effort. Claims that he believes in remaining peaceful." Her expression darkened into a sneer. "Ridiculous. Rich people can never truly keeping their noses out of things. He has his hand in one side or the other, I guarantee it. He's just too much of a coward to come right out and say which side he's supporting."

"Then why don't you go get your revenge on him?" I said, unable to remain silent any longer. It may have been Quatre's father we were talking about, but as far as I was concerned, after all this the man deserved whatever was coming to him. "You heard Quatre. He won't give you anything because you kidnapped his son. I'd be willing to bet that since he got that first phone call he hasn't done a damn thing but increase his own security." I glared at her. "You're being stupid."

Her finger twitched over the taser and Heero half-twisted, putting my body more behind him as she said, "You can claim that Zayeed doesn't care, but I imagine that if we kill his only heir he'll have no choice. What better message could there be than to get rid of his most important child?"

Trowa tensed, taking a step in front of Quatre. "And you think we'll go down easily?" he asked quietly.

"Even if you don't, you're vastly outnumbered," she replied confidently, jerking her chin towards the other people. I had to admit that the odds didn't look good. But there was something important that she didn't know, and I had the feeling she was about to find out what that was.

"It's your choice," Quatre said. His voice was a low, smooth murmur. He stepped closer and hooked his arm through Trowa's, holding onto him lightly like a woman would. It made him look small and weak and I could almost sense the subtle change in the people around us; they stopped regarding him as a threat and started paying more attention to the rest of us. I almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

"Your father made our choice for us," she spat, levelling her gun straight between his eyes. "Little shit like you, I bet you've never done a thing for the war effort."

Quatre laughed in her face. "It's a good thing I am not a betting man," he replied pleasantly. "The five of us have done more for the war effort than you could ever imagine. Or do you not watch television?"

Her brow furrowed and she pulled back a little, tilting her head. She kept the gun pointed at him but I could tell that something about what he had said had struck a chord in her, and she was trying to place it. Her eyes wandered over us for probably the first time since she had shown up and then settled on me, and you could see the exact moment when the truth dawned on her. I didn't know what had set her off. My braid, perhaps, or the gun in my hand. It was the first time she'd seen me with a weapon, after all. I gazed back at her coolly, hoping that my face expressed just how easy I would find it to lift my gun and put a bullet between her eyes.

"You…" she gasped softly. "You're that Gundam Pilot they were talking about on the news!"

Ah, yes. I remembered that news clipping well, even though I'd only seen a little bit of it. They had shown my picture and told the world how dangerous I could be. "Yes, that's me," I said, realizing there was no point in hiding it. She'd be dead soon anyway. "So don't tell me we haven't done enough for the war."

Apparently it wasn't a great leap for the idiots to realize that if I was a Gundam Pilot, the others were, too. Some of them were smart: they dropped their guns and ran. Quatre looked after them and started to lift his hand but Trowa shifted his arm. A small movement, barely noticeable to someone who wasn't watching, but enough, and he let them go. A few of them, though, stepped closer, and the woman's face split into a broad smile. She let out a loud cackle that made me wince. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

"How rich!" she sputtered. "The Gundam Pilots… Oh, if I'd only known, the_ fun_ that we could have had…" She shook her head. "I could be a very rich woman right now. I'm sure Oz would have paid handsomely to have had the two of you back in their grasp." Her finger tightened on the trigger. "Of course, since they seem to be doing a poor job of keeping you there, maybe it's for the best if I kill you now and get it over with."

"You're welcome to try," said Wufei, speaking for the first time. He shifted his weight in a way that I knew meant danger.

She fired but the bullet went astray. I wasn't sure who challenged her first - I saw both Wufei and Quatre moving in her direction. Heero practically lifted me off of my feet and got me out of the way of the immediate range. I struggled against him instinctively, wanting to get into the heat of the battle - those idiots were owed a little retribution Shinigami style - but he refused to let go and in my state I wasn't strong enough to get free. To my surprise, I saw that dog that had been threatening me before was now keeping pace with us, bearing its teeth at anyone who dared to get too close. I looked around and saw that Trowa was periodically glancing at us, and every time he did his eyes would darken for a split second and the dog's growls would get louder.

"Come on," Heero shouted in my ear, putting me down. He was limping, I noticed as we ran into the woods.

"Where are we going?" I demanded. It hurt to run, to walk, but I was able to keep pace with him in spite of the pain.

"We're getting out before reinforcements come," he said grimly, keeping a hand around my wrist. "Didn't you notice the man who was standing right behind us? As soon as that woman identified us as the Gundam Pilots, he took out a radio and began speaking into it. That radio had the symbol of Oz on the side of it." He looked disgusted. "It won't be long before soldiers are crawling all over this place, and we can't be around when that happens."

I hadn't noticed, my attention had been more focused on the crazy lady with the gun, but I trusted him. I twisted my wrist so that he was holding my hand and followed him, knowing that the others had likely seen the same thing or been tipped off in some other way. There was no way Heero would have left them behind, not anymore. He led me on a long path through the forest, gun held out in front of him. Once or twice we picked off a couple of sentries but for the most part it was easy walking, and we came out near the road just in time to see several convoys containing Oz soldiers go flying by, heading back in the direction we had just come from.

"Jesus," I muttered under my breath, trying not to imagine what would have happened if they'd shown up while Quatre and I were under lock and key. After the last escape, I suspected that they would have adopted a "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude.

"Come on." Heero pulled me along and wrapped an arm around my shoulders so that we were walking side by side. None of the soldiers even gave us a second look; they were so focused on trying to get to what they considered to be the scene of the crime. It was one of the worse problems with a war as far as I was concerned. People became so preoccupied with what they knew, or thought they knew, that they never stop to consider otherwise. It worked for Heero and me, though. We walked along the shoulder of the road for a good twenty minutes until we'd made it back to a car.

"Where do you think the others are?" I asked tiredly. Heero didn't have the keys but it was the work of seconds to pop the locks. I sank down onto the seat gratefully, feeling dizzy. The thought of putting my head down and falling asleep where I was was immensely appealing, but Heero was giving me that look that meant he'd shake me awake if I did something he considered foolish.

"They were taking their own routes," he replied, crouching down in front of me. Without asking, he reached out and pulled my shirt up. I sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers explored my chest. There was nothing sensual about his touch, only clinical: he was searching to see what kind of damage had been done. I knew that, but it felt good anyway. It felt like it had been ages since the last time he had touched me and I soaked up the gentleness of it eagerly. His eyes flicked up to mine and then softened, and he drew a single finger lightly down my side.

"Hee-chan," I said breathlessly. "You know, normally I make a guy take me out for dinner before he gets my clothes off."

He rolled his eyes, as I'd known he would, and shook his head. "Baka. Anything serious?"

"No, I told you. Or nothing that I'm aware of," I added more honestly. Considering that I'd just walked a good half hour through the woods, I thought it was safe to conclude that nothing was broken. "For the most part they didn't really touch me, Heero, and you know I don't lie. I was drugged a lot of the time. They wanted me around as a way to get Quatre to stay in line, that's all."

His hand was on my arm before I finished speaking. He pulled it out straight and looked at the dozens of little marks made by countless needles. They peppered the inside of my arm, making me look like a junkie. "Are they still in your system?"

"A bit, yeah." I could feel them more intensely now that I was sitting and the adrenaline was wearing off. My head was starting to swim a little and the world beyond Heero had gone dark. I blinked heavily and rubbed my eyes with my free hand.

A branch cracked and both of us looked up. Heero tensed and his hand went to his gun, but it was only Trowa. He was holding an unconscious Quatre in his arms. Quatre's head was tipped backwards and even from where I was sitting I could tell he was still breathing, which was comforting considering what we'd been through. I couldn't see if he was injured, though. Heero stood up, though he didn't leave my side. "What happened?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"He collapsed," said Trowa, cradling Quatre closer with one hand. He voiced a thin whistle with the other. The so-called vicious dog bounded out of the bushes and danced around his legs, tongue lolling out like it was the friendliest creature in the world. "I think he just over-exerted himself."

He carried Quat over to the other side of the car and opened the back door to lay him down on the seat behind me. I twisted around and looked down at him. There was a small smile on his face. Whatever he was dreaming about was making him happy. I reached down and put my hand on his forehead, feeling for any source of a fever, but there was nothing. His skin was cool to the touch, if a bit moist. I combed my fingers into his blonde curls, realizing that I'd probably be dead right now if he hadn't stepped in. I'd never had someone protect me like that before. It was a bit disorienting to think that someone had actually wanted to.

"Did you see what direction Wufei went in?" Heero asked.

"No, but he knew where the car was, Heero. If he's not here in twenty minutes I'll go look for him," Trowa replied, nodding to the dog. It wouldn't take him long to track Wufei down if he had the help of a creature with a good sense of smell.

I kept lightly stroking Quat's hair while I leaned against the back of the seat. I must have dozed for a bit because when I opened my eyes again, Wufei was standing in the clearing with Heero and Trowa. He was talking to them in low tones. There was soot on his face and on his clothes and hair, and I dazedly wondered if he'd been in a fire of some kind. Whatever he was saying was making Heero and Trowa angry. I struggled into a sitting position, thinking that something might be wrong. Heero was at my side instantly, staying my movements with a hand to my shoulder.

"Don't, Baka, you might hurt yourself," he said.

"What's wrong?" I mumbled.

"Nothing. We're getting out of here." Wufei was right behind Heero. He opened the driver's side door and got in. Trowa went around to the other side and propped Quatre up between us. I pulled my legs into the car and closed the door as Heero got in beside Wufei, who started the car and performed a quick U-turn. I leaned against Quat's free side as Wufei stepped on the accelerator and looked across the seat at Trowa.

"You know, don't you?" I said.

"Know what, Duo?"

"What you are."

He looked at me. One of his arms was around Quatre's shoulders, so I was leaning against it. He pulled his hand free and twisted until he could brush my bangs out of my face. "Yes, I know," he said quietly. "I don't think there was ever any doubt. But I'm not going to do anything about it until I have to."

I closed my eyes and didn't respond for a moment. His hand felt soothing against my forehead. "Heero and I missed out on our mission, didn't we?"

"It's still waiting for you," he replied. "As soon as you're up to it, the two of you will be able to go together." I didn't have to look at him to know he was smiling. "Maybe this will be one mission where no one will have to rescued."

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Please review!


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N:** Ok, I hadn't planned to include it in this story, but where are we all on Duo cross dressing? Yes? No? It could fit in fairly well and I like it but I'm open to alternative ideas if you want to toss them at me. Enjoy!

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It was a few days before Duo felt well enough to go on the mission with me. We'd relocated to a different safe house, this one a summer cottage that wasn't linked to the Winner family in any way. Quatre spent most of the time unconscious and he was only just beginning to come around by the time Duo and I were leaving. I could tell that Duo would have rather stuck around and made sure that Quatre was really okay, but at the same time he was getting antsy. He'd never been all that good at staying in one place, and he had been cooped up a lot during the past month or so, considering that he'd been sick and then kidnapped. If he didn't do something to burn off that excess energy he was going to drive himself and the rest of us crazy.

So early that morning, I climbed out of bed and checked my e-mail. It was the first time I had looked since we'd returned to the safe house, and I wasn't surprised to see the coldly angry missive from J that was waiting. He was short and perfunctory, saying that as soon as I felt like doing the mission it would be waiting for me. He always got like that when he was upset. It used to make me feel guilty, but this time I just deleted it before packing my laptop up. No matter what he said, I didn't feel bad for putting the mission aside while we went to rescue Duo and Quatre. Granted, the two of them probably would have escaped even without our interference, but I felt calmer now that I knew they were safe.

Duo was waiting for me by the time I got downstairs. He was sitting on top of the kitchen counter, chewing on a chocolate chip muffin and staring out the window. I stopped in the doorway and looked at him for a moment, taking the time to see how he was when his defences were down. There was still bandaging on his chest and stomach, I knew, where the majority of the blows had been focused. His arm was covered in gauze to hide the needle marks that were only just beginning to fade, and he still had the remnants of two black eyes, but overall he didn't look too bad. Like a normal teenager who had gotten into a fight.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?" he asked, not turning his head. He took a big bite of his muffin and chewed before adding, "Only, I thought you wanted to get going before the sun comes up."

"I was making sure you were okay," I replied.

"I told you I was and you know I don't lie."

There was a hint of annoyance in his voice and I hurried to placate him. "I know that better than anyone, Baka. I know you don't lie, but I also know that you are the best at knowing how to conceal things with the truth." I walked over to him and placed a hand on his chin, turning his face towards me. My eyes were drawn to the gauze taped to the side of his head, hiding the wound underneath, though some bruising was still visible. Fury still burned through me when I saw it and remembered how they had treated him. It made me want to track them down one by one. "You can't blame me for wanting to make sure."

He huffed. "Yes, I can. In this case I really am telling you the truth. I'm fine. Most of the bruises don't even hurt anymore."

"That's good," I said, not bothering to point out that "most of" hardly meant he was in the peak of health. I suspected he knew that for himself. I found myself staring at his mouth as he popped the last of the muffin inside and began to chew. It shouldn't have been appealing, but I was rapidly discovering that Duo had the unique ability to make everything sexy.

"My eyes are up here, Hee-chan." He was smirking.

"Your eyes are only part of what interests me." I moved my hand to cup the back of his head and pulled him into a deep kiss. His lips parted beneath mine with a gasp and I pushed my tongue inside, greedily examining every inch of his mouth. I tasted the remnants of chocolate and orange juice and heard the sound of his moan as his hands came up and wound their way into my hair, tugging gently. It felt good and I responded with a low groan, pressing myself closer. I was pleased to discover that I fit neatly between his parted thighs. I wrapped my other arm around his waist, pulling him closer to me in turn.

The position put him up higher than me and it was interesting to be the one tilting my head back instead of down. Duo seemed to like it as well. He grew more forceful and I loved it, willingly allowing him to have his fun for the time being. He was learning quickly for someone who didn't have much experience. I groaned again when he pulled back and I saw that his eyes had darkened, his cheeks flushed pink. He looked like a little forest minx. I ran my hand up his back and was pleased to see his eyes fluttered closed as he arched into the contact.

"Fuck, Heero," he muttered, pulling harder on my hair and squirming. It made his hips rub against mine, which was very pleasurable indeed. Both of us moaned out loud at the contact and I yanked him down, pressing my lips to his neck. God he tasted good. I licked my way across his throat, leaving little red marks behind where I couldn't resist nibbling a bit. He was wriggling against me and I wanted nothing more than to yank his pants down and drop to my knees. The thought of the wonderful little cries I knew I could wring out of him was tantalizing. I pushed my finger into the waistband and his eyes flew open, reality returning in a rush.

"Wait!" he said breathlessly. "Wait – oh shit – wait..."

"Why?" I asked, not ashamed to say that it probably sounded a little like a whine. I fastened my teeth around a particularly tantalizing patch of skin on the curve of his shoulder and worried it gently, loving the way it made him rock against me.

"Because... ah... because we have to go on our mission, that's why!"

The mission. Never in my life had I hated hearing those words as much as I did then. Duo looked like a wet dream, all wide violet eyes and flushed skin and heaving breaths. I wanted to scoop him up and carry him straight to bed. Actually, scratch that. I would've gladly had him or been had by him here in the kitchen or anywhere else, in any way that we could. Letting go of him didn't seem to be an option, but I knew I had no choice. It took more self control than I'd realized I possessed to give his neck one last lick, right over the dark red mark I'd created, and pull away. I was breathing hard, my pants tented, and I knew he was feeling the same way, if the way he slowly and reluctantly untangled his fingers from my hair was any indication.

"You..." I said, and my voice came out hoarse. "You're going to be the death of me, Duo. If you only knew how much I wanted to take you upstairs and give every part of you a thorough examination."

I felt him shiver and he groaned slightly, tipping his head back. "Don't say things like that," he pleaded. His braid was coming undone, I noticed. The tie was lying on the counter beside him. I had no memory of pulling it free but I must have at some point. I grabbed the silky tail and set about unwinding the strands, even though it would only mean Duo would have to re-do the braid before we left. He let me do it with an indulgent smile, and as soon as his hair was falling around him I knew I shouldn't have. If it was possible, he looked even more addictive. I had to kiss him again. I was rapidly reaching the point where I couldn't get enough of him.

Finally, I pulled myself away. It was too much and in spite of my self control, I knew I was going to lose it. "Re-braid your hair and then meet me out by the Gundams," I said, turning away. I was so hard that it was difficult to walk, but I had to get myself out of the room. I couldn't keep my hands off of him and the more I touched and tasted, the greedier I got. I wouldn't be able to stop myself soon. I went outside and occupied myself by taking our bags down to our Gundams, then making sure everything was ready for our depart. The steady work helped to take my mind off of Duo.

About fifteen minutes later, he came out. His hair had been re-braided and he was wearing a different shirt with a higher collar. I knew it was an effort to hide the noticeable blotches on his neck, including one a little higher on his throat that was turning a nice shade of purple. He got me watching and gave me a dirty look as he placed a self-conscious hand over them. I just shrugged, sending him a smirk. I wasn't going to apologize for leaving a mark on him that plainly announced to the world that he was taken. I would've appreciated having a few of Duo's marks on me, and I made a note to rectify that the next time the two of us were alone.

We got into our Gundams. I powered mine up, enjoying the feel of the controls under my hands. I found that being in my Gundam was soothing, allowing me to forget about the strain of the past few weeks. For a few hours, I was just a Gundam Pilot and I didn't have to think about anything else. It was comforting. I leaned back in the seat and wondered if Duo felt the same way. There was no denying that he had a deep connection to Deathscythe, but I didn't know how he would feel about the fact that his Gundam had been modeled after death. Then again, he had known about this long before the rest of us, so there was a good chance he had come to terms with it. I would've opened up a line of communication to ask, but I had the feeling he was still annoyed and it was probably best to let him alone until we arrived.

The flight only took a couple of hours. Using maps and data I'd found online, I'd already planned a place where we could hide the Gundams. It was about a mile or so away from the school and the base. Not as close as I would've liked considering we might need them, but the school was on the outskirts of a moderately large town that was famous for seeing a lot of tourist traffic. Supposedly its mountains and forests were among the best in the world, and so the closer we got, the more chance there was of being discovered by nosy hikers. Better to be safe and hike than sorry later on.

I landed and opened the hatch, climbing out with the ease of long practice as Deathscythe came down behind me. By the time Duo got out, I was already in the process of camouflaging them. He set about helping and I couldn't help remembering the last time we'd done this, when he hadn't even been able to walk back to the house afterwards. The memory of his legs and thighs around my back made me groan. I hadn't been able to appreciate it at the time out of concern for him, but he'd been warm and pliable, half-asleep and delicious.

"What are you thinking?"

I turned around to see Duo staring at me. "What?"

"You were groaning to yourself. What are you - " He stopped suddenly and his eyes dropped to focus on my crotch. A slight flush rose in his cheeks and then he shook his head. "Still? It's been a couple of hours, Heero, and you haven't cooled off yet?"

"I can't help what you do to me," I replied, smirking. Actually, I probably could have if I'd wanted or needed to. I'd learned from an early age to have a much finer control over my body than most people did. But I liked this reaction, liked knowing that I was human enough to want Duo in that way. He was the first person I'd ever really been sexually or romantically interested in.

"For fuck's sake," he muttered, though his eyes had gone a shade darker. "Come on, let's go."

I grabbed my bag and threw it over my shoulder, following him without complaint. We hiked through the woods until we came out on a ridge above the school. It was a partial boarding school, meaning that the students who lived in the town didn't have to stay there. That would make it easier for us to get in and out at night. There were students milling around the grounds, most of them looking to be around the same age as we were. I put my bag down and turned to look at Duo, wondering how I was going to approach this topic with him. I could tell it hadn't occurred to him.

"What?" he asked. "Heero, seriously, now is not the time."

"It's not that, Baka," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. That woman recognized you from the television, Duo," I reminded him. "Sure, she needed a little bit of prompting, but she still indentified you as a Gundam Pilot without too much trouble. They put your picture out and everyone saw it. What do you think the chances are that none of those kids, or their parents, or the teachers, were watching the news that night?"

His eyes widened. "Shit."

"My thinking exactly." I sighed as I looked him over. Duo was very attractive boy, all things considered, but that was going to work again us. Pale skin, a small, slightly upturned nose, big violet eyes, and long chestnut hair all combined to make him memorable. Sometimes his appearance was helpful - during our time at the schools, more than one girl had professed an interest and he usually delighted in flirting with them to get information - but in this case, with the news feed so fresh in everyone's minds, I knew there was a good chance that someone might put two and two together and come up with a phone call to Oz.

"So what are you suggesting?" he asked warily, fingers creeping up and sliding protectively around his braid.

"I'm not going to ask you to get rid of it," I said patiently, even though I knew that would make things a lot easier. There would just be no point in even asking. He'd never go for it and I wouldn't have wanted him to. "We just need to disguise you somehow. Trowa lent me this." I knelt down and opened my bag, showing him the wig that was lying on top.

"You really think that's going to work?" he asked sceptically, kneeling down beside me. He picked up the wig and examined it. The hair was soft and fine, a deep blond color. It would look good on him if we could find a way to make it fit.

"I don't know what else to suggest."

Duo sighed and sat back on his heels. He looked resigned. "I do."

I waited a moment but when he didn't say anything else, I prompted, "What?"

He just shook his head. "Why don't you go down to the school? We're supposed to act like we don't know each other so it would be better if we arrived separately. I've got to pick some stuff up."

I looked at him warily, wondering what he was planning, but I could tell from the stubborn set of his chin that he wasn't going to tell me. Finally, I leaned over and pulled him into a kiss that was over way too fast. "Good luck."

"I'll probably need it," he muttered, poking half-heartedly at the wig. I left it with him in case he couldn't come up with anything else and took the trail that led down to the school.

Some of the students looked at me curiously as I entered the grounds. All of them were already wearing uniforms. The boys wore black pants with crisp white tops, and some of them had black jackets on with a little patch sewn onto the breast. The girls wore pants or a knee-length skirt, the choice seemed to be optional, with white blouses and similar jackets. I kept my head down, knowing that I stood out in my more casual clothing, and headed for the front door. That's probably why I didn't even notice her until she pounced, grabbing onto my arm and clinging to me with such strength that she nearly knocked us both over.

"I've been waiting for you!" Relena Darlian said gleefully.

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Please review!


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews and those who weighed in. Though cross-dressing didn't show up in this chapter, there's a good chance it will show up at some point, so keep an eye out! Enjoy.

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Heero didn't look very happy to be leaving me by myself, but to his credit he did go. I stuffed the wig he'd given me into my bag and tossed it over my shoulder, wincing a little as it struck one of the larger bruises on my back on the way down. I hadn't been lying before; I really was fine for the most part. It was only when I forgot and tried to do something without thinking that anything really hurt. But I wasn't about to share that with him; he wouldn't let me do anything if he knew, and that included coming on this mission. I'd never imagined that Heero could be such a mother hen, but he really was. In some ways it was kind of endearing to have someone worry about me that way, but in other ways it was stifling because I wasn't used to it. I needed a little time to myself and the need for a disguise was providing me with the perfect opportunity.

I took a different trail that would lead me straight into the town. The first thing I did was pull out my baseball cap and tug it low over my face. People rarely paid attention to teens that didn't stand out and I knew I'd be no exception. No one spared me a second glance as I walked towards the main street, where most of the shops were located. I was trying to think of some way to disguise myself on a more long-term basis, since I didn't know how long that Heero and I would be at the school for. That was the one problem with my hair that I would admit to: it made disguises a tough thing to handle. It was so long that it was nearly impossible to dye; it would take several boxes and several hours longer than I had. That left a wig, but not the blond one that would look awful.

I kept walking, searching for inspiration, aware that time was ticking. If I didn't make it back to the school in less than a couple of hours I'd be in trouble with both Heero and the administration. I stopped and reached into my bag, pulling out the identification papers that Heero had given me. As usual, we'd been set up under false names. I had been set up under Alex Smith and he was Kenji Chiko. There was additional information about where Alex was from - the bare bones that the school would have required when it came to falsifying records - but that was it. It was pretty much a blank slate for me to build upon, which was both a good and bad thing, really.

The easiest thing for me to do would be to disguise myself as a girl. Yes, I said easy. I'd done it before, as a child, and I couldn't see it being much different now with the right accessories. Alex was a gender ambiguous name, after all. But I was reluctant to do it. First of all, I hated the thought of anyone seeing me that way, much less Heero or - gods forbid - the other pilots. Secondly, I had a distinct memory of Heero promising that the two of us would be sharing a room at this school and I desperately wanted that to happen. There was no way the administration would allow a boy and a "girl" to share a room no matter how much Heero worked on the records. I'd do it if there was no other way, but I wouldn't be very happy about it.

My eyes lit on a costume store and I wandered a little closer. The uniform to the school would make me look different; no one would expect a fellow student to be a terrorist in disguise, so that would be one thing in my favour. If I could change the color of my eyes with contacts, that would help even more, and they probably wouldn't be too expensive. My hair would be the hardest part but if I pinned it into a couple of different sections, I might be able to get a wig on. I cast a derisive glance at my backpack. Provided I had the right one, of course. It wouldn't be perfect, probably far from it, but I'd have to do the best that I could.

It took me a couple of hours to gather everything that I needed. The local costume store sold contacts for a couple hundred credits a pack. They were the "in thing" right then and no one looked twice at me buying them. I got brown, hoping that the natural color would make me stand out less. They were also a bitch to put in. By the time I was finished, my eyes were full of tears from accidentally poking myself and I'd scared away a couple of other customers because I was swearing so much. But finally - they were in and they didn't look too bad, even if it was eerie to look into the mirror and see brown eyes staring back at me.

I took my hair out of its braid and re-braided it into three different sections. From there it was a relatively simple matter to pin my hair close to my scalp and pull a wig over it. This one was made from deep brown hair that was closer to my natural coloring, but lacked any hint of auburn. It looked much better than the blond would have, I knew. I slipped it on and then used a couple of extra pins to fix it in place, using the braids underneath as anchor points to make sure it stayed in place. Not the best job I'd ever done, but it would do for a school.

Since it was getting late, I didn't do anything else. I just grabbed my bag and left. The grounds were empty by the time I got there and I knew I was late. I'd probably hear about it from Heero later on. Maybe I could distract him before he got well into the lecture. It was a pleasing idea and I smirked to myself as I strolled into the school and made my way down to where the central office was located. The secretary didn't have a chance. I'd had a lot of practice at being charming with people, and a few winks and she was putty in my hands. She practically fell over herself to get me a set of spare uniforms and lead to my dorm room.

I recognized Heero's stuff as soon I walked in (excellent) but I didn't have time to appreciate it. I changed quickly into the new uniform and followed her down to where the classrooms were located. They were already in session and the teacher glared at us when the secretary opened the door. I gave him my best smile but he didn't seem to be affected, just gave me a cold glance and accepted the information that the secretary gave him, though whether that because he saw the bruising and assumed I was a trouble-maker or because I was late, I wasn't sure. Heero was also glaring at me from the back of the class. Feel the love, honestly.

"This is our second new student, Alex Smith," the teacher announced. "I hope you'll have a better sense of punctuality from now on, Mr Smith."

Because I was late, then. "I'll try," I said, sweeping my gaze out over the class. It looked to be about half girls and half boys, which was fine. But then I noticed who was sitting at the back of the room right beside Heero. It was Relena! My jaw dropped and it took considerable effort to drag it back up. What the fuck was she doing here?

"You can sit over there beside the window. Try to keep up."

I walked over to the indicated seat in a daze. Part of me was relieved that he hadn't put me beside Relena and Heero, but another part of me wanted desperately to stake my claim. I could feel at least one set of eyes boring into my shoulder and risked a quick look. Heero was facing the front of the room like a good little student, but Relena was giving me the once over. There was suspicion in her face and I knew she knew that I wasn't just an average student. The timing was too coincidental. I raised an eyebrow at her and adopted my best "why are you staring at me?" look. She must have taken the hint because abruptly her cheeks coloured pink and she glanced hastily away.

The class went by agonizingly slowly. To be honest, I wasn't really paying a lot of attention. Most of this stuff seemed to be pretty pointless. What good was knowing about some old, dead poet or what oxygen was on the periodic table when there was a war going on? It wasn't going to help me avoid getting shot. I leaned my head on my arm and struggled to look like I was interested, but in the process I noticed that the attention of most of my classmates had long since wandered. Heero, who was actually diligently writing down the notes, stood out more than I did. The thought made me smirk at first, but just as quickly it made me sad. It still bothered me that Heero had never been given the chance to act like a normal kid. I mean, none of us had, not really, but it was especially noticeable with him. At least I'd had the gang and knew how to connect with people. Well, sometimes.

As soon as the first break came Relena was out of her seat and charging towards me. She put her hands on her hips and said, "Hello."

"Hello," I said back. Everyone was looking at us and it would've seemed odd if I had blatantly ignored her. The whole point was to not draw extra attention. I did my best to act like I didn't hate her guts and forced a smile. "Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to welcome you to the school, that's all," Relena replied, holding her hand out. I looked down at it and reluctantly took it. She tightened her grip instantly and I couldn't help being amused by the fact that she was actually trying to intimidate me. It was almost cute, in a way.

"Thank you. I'm pleased to be here," I said shortly, dropping her hand as soon as I could. The temptation to invoke just a little of Shinigami's power and make her drop dead on the spot was just too much.

"I'll bet you are," she said, narrowing her eyes slightly. She stood there for a second later and it was obvious that there was a lot more she wanted to say, but she couldn't figure out how to do it without drawing extra attention to us. We were already the focus of the rest of the class. Even Heero was glancing at us and I could see a worry line across his forehead. I had to wonder if he was more concerned about me losing it or Relena.

I'll say this much for Relena: she knew when to cut her losses. She spun on her heel with a flip of her blonde hair and stalked back to her seat, flouncing into it with a huff. I turned back to my books, my heart racing. I felt like I had just passed some major test, but I was certain that it was only the first of many. I knew that Relena recognized me and she would probably make my life a living hell as soon as she found out I was rooming with Heero. And if she discovered just how our relationship had progressed, I'd have to start sleeping with one eye open. There was no doubt in my mind that Relena Darlian could be a dangerous girl when it came to things she wanted, and she'd probably never wanted anything in her life as much as she wanted Heero.

Class was boring for the rest of the morning. As soon as lunch arrived I was out of my seat and out the door without waiting for anyone else to get up. I knew that Heero would want to talk to me, so I started making my way back down towards our dormitory. I should've figured that he wouldn't be the only one. Relena could move fast when she wanted to. She was waiting outside of our door, arms folded, leaning against it in a way that told me no one was inside. She wouldn't have risked someone opening the door and causing her to fall backwards. Too much of a chance that someone passing by might see her in such an ungraceful position. I stopped a few feet away and folded my arms, staring at her until she looked up at me.

"Can I help you?" I repeated my words from earlier.

"It would probably be better if we spoke inside," she said, cutting each word off sharply. I didn't really want to bring her into the room, but she was right: any conversation between us was probably best had in private. I took the key out of my pocket and unlocked the door. Relena marched inside without waiting for an invitation, which was probably best considering that I was loathe to give one to her. I closed the door behind us and leaned against it.

"What do you want, Relena?"

"I want to know what you're doing here," she retorted, spinning to face me.

"Why do you think I'm here? It's not like I would chose a school as a fun place to hang out," I retorted, exasperated. I folded my arms and scowled. "For that matter, I could ask the same thing as you. How the hell did you even know that Heero and I would be here?"

Her expression became smug in a matter of seconds. She clearly enjoyed putting one over on me. "That's for me to know, thank you very much."

"Are you following us?" I asked suspiciously.

"No. Honestly, I've been waiting here for you for weeks," she snapped. "I knew Heero was supposed to be here ages ago but I didn't think it would take this long. Do you know what it's like to be surrounded by a bunch of kids all the time? I had started to think that he wasn't coming at all." A dreamy look came over her face. "But then he showed up and he was so pleased to see me."

By pleased, I assumed she meant revolted. "You do realize that you're putting him in danger, right?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow. "Every moment you're here draws more attention to us and you're not helping by clinging to him the way you do. People will start looking at him more closely and if someone even suspects that they know who he is, they'll call Oz. I rescued them last time, Relena. I don't know that we'll be so lucky a second time around. If you really cared about Heero, you would leave right now. Leave and not approach him again until the war is over."

Relena bristled. "And what about you?" she threw back. "What are you doing? Like you're not putting him just as much danger as I am? They had your face all over the television network, Maxwell. If someone figured you out then Heero would come under suspicion for rooming with you. What would happen then, huh? How long would it be before someone figured things out?"

I didn't want to admit it but her words made me feel cold. "Relena - "

"No, you know I'm right!" She planted her hands on her hips and glared at me. "You're just being a hypocrite, that's all. You talk about me like I don't care about keeping Heero safe when you're every bit as bad as I am. Heero could _die_ because of you."

My mouth snapped shut and I just stared at her for a long moment in silence, uncertain of how to respond. Maybe it was better that I didn't say anything, because a minute later the door opened and Heero walked in. He looked at us, surprised, and then his expression became wary as he registered the tension. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Heero," said Relena, shooting me an icy look. "Duo and I were just having a chat, that's all."

"Relena, you can't call us by our real names," Heero told her. "You'll get us into trouble."

"Yeah and I would hate to do something that might deliberately put you into danger," she said softly. "I have to go eat some lunch. Why don't you come with me, Kenji?"

"You go ahead. I'll catch up."

It wasn't what she wanted to hear, judging by the pout on her face, but she went. Heero moved over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. "Is there something I should know about?"

"No," I said weakly. It was the truth. There was no need for Heero to know about this. I dropped my gaze so that I wouldn't have to look into his eyes. Relena's words had made me feel sick somewhere deep inside where I couldn't reach. I couldn't shake the lingering feeling that she was right. The only question was, what was I going to do about it?

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Please review!


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews; hope you keep enjoying the story.

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Something was going on between Duo and Relena and I couldn't figure out what it was. That night, I returned to the dorm after what felt like an extremely long day of classes and found Duo already there, which was unusual in of itself. Normally after weeks of confinement he'd have been out with the other students, making friends and pumping them for information. So when I walked into the room and realized that he was stretched out on top of the covers of his bed, staring at the ceiling, my immediate thought was that something was wrong. I dropped my bag and hurried over to him. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

He blinked at me. "What?"

"You're here in the room instead of out with the others. Are you sick?" I wanted to feel his forehead but the darkening look on his face warned me not to.

"God, Heero, stop being such a mother hen!" he exclaimed in exasperation. "You're beginning to drive me crazy. Every time I turn around you're there asking me if I'm alright. I am a Gundam Pilot, you know. A few little injuries aren't going to kill me. Just... just leave me alone, would you?"

The words stung. I tried not to show it. "Alright, fine," I said, holding my hands up to prove that I wasn't going to approach him again. I didn't say anything else, just went over to the desk and sat down with my laptop. I opened up the information that J had sent me on the base that we were going to be looking into, but it was like my eyes weren't seeing it.

I'd never cared about someone the way I cared about Duo. J had done a lot to beat every human impulse out of me, including things like love and affection. He considered all of them to be useless things that would only serve to slow his version of a perfect soldier down. Finding out I could still feel that way towards someone had been exciting for me... maybe too much, considering Duo's reaction. Had I been smothering him? Maybe it was time for me to stop checking up on him so much. He did have a point; he was a Gundam Pilot and he'd proven on numerous different occasions that a few wounds weren't going to kill him.

I wanted to ask him about Relena again but considering what'd he just told me, I knew it wasn't the right thing to bring up. I suspected he would only get angry again and accuse me of thinking that he couldn't handle himself. If there was a problem I'd have to trust that Duo could take care of it on his own. I sighed and forced myself to turn my attention to the base, losing myself in the defences (numerous and pretty good, detailed considering that they were stationed near what was basically a tourist town) and how the two of us were going to get through them (Duo's skills would definitely come in handy; he'd be the one to infiltrate while I took care of everything else remotely). It felt good to concentrate on something that I knew, something that I couldn't mess up.

I was vaguely aware of Duo doing things behind me but I didn't pay any attention to him. Then, suddenly, I felt hands landing on my shoulders and a warm body resting against my back. I paused briefly in my typing, confused, before continuing. I wasn't wholly sure why Duo was trying to get my attention when he had just told me to leave him alone. Sometimes I thought that J had been more successful at having kept me from having or understanding human emotions than he'd realized. When a couple of minutes went by and Duo didn't move away, I couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Did you want something? I asked shortly.

His hands tightened slightly. "Are you angry with me?"

I turned around and looked at him. He sounded upset, even though his face was surprisingly calm. I noticed he'd taken his contacts out, though he still wore his wig. "I'm not angry with you. I don't understand you," I admitted. "You asked me to leave you alone and I did, but now you're acting like I'm the one who is doing something wrong. What do you _want_ from me, Duo?"

His head dropped and he didn't say anything for a moment. I waited patiently, studying him. It was hard enough to know what Duo was thinking even when it was just the two of us and he wasn't trying to hide. With the wig and the way he had his head bowed, I felt like he was a stranger. He finally looked up at me, showing his eyes, and sighed. "I don't know, Heero. I thought I knew but with everything that's happened... I guess I'm just a little confused, that's all."

"Confused about what?" I asked. I wasn't trying to pressure him but I was tired of not understanding what was going on between us. "Is this about Relena? Did she say something to upset you?"

"It's not just about Relena," he replied, adjusting the wig. "I just... it's complicated, okay? I'm sorry for snapping at you. I don't want you to leave me alone." He looked tired and I suddenly remembered the fevered dreams he'd had during the days when we thought he'd been dying from that fever, when he would have died had it not been for Shinigami. It had been one of the hardest things I'd ever had to live through, knowing that even though I was beside him, he couldn't hear me. I stood up, making him back up a step, and reached out. With a quick jerk of his wrist he was in my arms. I wrapped my hands securely around his shoulders and placed my cheek on his head while he went stiff with surprise. The wig was scratchy and artificial under my cheek compared to his real hair, but it was worth it just to be able to have him there with me.

"I won't leave you alone, Duo," I promised him. "If I can be here with you I'll always chose that option. You don't have to worry about that. If you want space you can tell me. I've never done this before so I don't know when I'm being too much. But I will always be here."

His hands came up and laced into my shirt, so tightly that I thought the thin material might rip under the force of his grip, and he relaxed with a small sound. "Relena said you were pleased when she showed up," he muttered. "I would've given anything to have been able to see the look on your face."

I had to smile. "I'm not sure pleased is the word for it, to be honest. It took everything I had not to run in the opposite direction." I felt him laugh and it was good. Even though he hadn't responded to what I'd said, I knew that he'd heard me and for now that was enough. I cared about him so much that I never wanted him to doubt that he would ever be left alone again. "Duo, if she says anything to you just ignore her. Relena seems to live in some fantasy world where she thinks I'm going to wake up someday and want anything that she has to offer. That's not going to happen."

"Heero – "

"No, listen to me!" I said insistently. "I mean it, Duo. I don't know why Relena is so interested in me. I've never given her any indication that I'm interested in her in that way. The first time I met her, I brushed her off and told her I would kill her." I shook my head. The frustration Relena caused me couldn't even be described in words. In spite of my best efforts, I literally could not understand why she acted the way she did towards me. "If I could say something to make her leave me alone, I would, but so far everything just seems to encourage her."

Duo had tilted his head back and was watching me. There was a small smile playing around his lips. "It's not every day you see the great Heero Yuy so flustered."

"Yeah, well, it's not every day I have a stalker, either," I pointed out. I appreciated his attempt to make the situation seem a little more light-hearted but it wasn't working. I couldn't rid myself of the idea that Relena was going to screw things up royally between Duo and me, and that was the last thing I wanted. If Duo and I survived this war, I wanted to be with him. The things that Relena could offer me: money, fame, security… none of them mattered. I'd never had them before and I didn't care if I ever did. But I was realizing that they mattered a lot to Duo and because of that, he couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the fact that I felt differently. It was worrying.

He must have seen something in my face because he reached out and squeezed my arm. "I'm not going to let her get to me, Heero, honest. I know that Relena is just full of hot air."

_Do you?_ I bit the question back at the very last second, knowing that he wouldn't appreciate being questioned. But I wondered. Relena had the gift of gab for certain. She had this way of being incredibly convincing, of being able to make the most ludicrous of things sound perfectly reasonable. There had been a few times where I'd fallen for it myself: times when I could have killed her but I hadn't because she'd managed to worm her way under my skin. I could easily see her doing the same thing to us now. She was determined that she and I were going to be together; I'd already heard a rumour going around that she was planning to ask me to some dance. Unbelievable. It was like she genuinely believed that we were here to have fun as opposed to a mission.

"Just remember to take what she says with a grain of salt," I said instead, knowing that there was a good chance my words of caution were falling on deaf ears. Duo nodded and turned away, walking over to his bed. I felt like I was being dramatic, feeling like he was slipping away from me, but it was the truth. We'd never talked about anything. We hadn't even discussed our move from partners to friends to... what? What were we? I didn't even know and I wanted to find out but how exactly did you approach that topic? J's training had never prepared me for this.

Duo leaned down and pulled his computer out from under the bed. "I was looking at the schematics too," he revealed, turning around to face me. He set his computer down on the bed and then pulled his wig off. He started unpinning his hair. "I think I saw a way that I could sneak in. It looks like there's a small gap in the guards on the north side of the building every night at 1:00am."

"That's good," I said shortly, crossing the room in a handful of strides and yanking him into my arms. Quickly, before he could react, I spun us around and sat down on the bed, pulling him down on top of me. He let out a squeak of surprise and threw his hands out, catching himself against my shoulders before he could come down face first. He ended up straddling me, his thighs on either side of my waist, and I'm not ashamed to say that I wanted to take full advantage of his position. My hands found their way to his hips immediately.

"Heero, we have work to do," Duo said. His fingers betrayed his impatient scolding tone as he began to explore my chest. I liked having him on top of me. He wasn't very heavy, but his weight was solid enough that it would be impossible to forget that he was there.

"You're turning me into a rebel," I said with a smirk, skirting one of my hands up his back. He arched into my touch with a sigh. I slid my fingers into his hair and pulled the rest of the pins free. "Come on. Isn't this the whole reason we got a room to ourselves? We can't do anything at the base until dark and that's at least a couple of hours away. You know that. You've already got a plan so what's the harm in passing the time?"

"You're something of a sex maniac," he marvelled, shaking his head. "If the world only knew the truth about Gundam Pilot 01."

"What, that he's dying to fuck 02?"

"Who says you're going to be the one doing the fucking?" There was laughter dancing in his eyes as he slipped his hands down my chest and gently grasped hold of my nipples, pinching teasingly. "I _am_ the one on top, you know."

"I don't really care," I gasped. It never ceased to amaze me how the smallest of touches from Duo was enough to inflame my senses. Being with him was so much_ more_ than I had ever expected. "I just want to do something with you. _Now_."

"Impatient," he noted. He scooted backwards a little so that his bottom was rest on my thighs. It gave him enough room to unbutton my pants and then pull the zipper down. I sighed out loud, relieved, as some of the tension was released. He kept watching my face as he slipped his hand inside my pants, moving it across the front of my boxers. The light, curious touch was maddening, not really providing enough friction, and I couldn't help thrusting up against his hand.

"Duo, _please_."

"Alright, Hee-chan, alright." His grip tightened fractionally as he explored, his hand sliding up across my hip and then down under the boxers. I groaned at the first touch of skin on skin. The delicious heat of his hand was tantalizing, sending shivers through the rest of me. Duo's eyes were wide and he looked pleased; his breathing was starting to come a little faster and I could feel pressure against my thigh that said he was not unaffected by what he was doing. I was glad he'd taken the contacts out and the wig off; it was intriguing to be able to see him, my Duo, instead of some stranger.

His touch was still cautious, exploratory, but he knew what he was doing. I bit my lip to hold back a moan as he began stroking me, firm, long pulls from base to tip that made me arch up into the heat of his touch. I ached to be able to touch him in return, but he was sitting just far enough away that my hands couldn't reach, and judging by the mischievous little smirk, he knew it. I clenched my fingers into the sheets on either side of me instead and panted, closing my eyes as the pace started to speed up.

Both of us were so involved in what we were doing that we never even heard the door opening. I was close, having wound myself up so many times without doing anything about it, and Duo's breathing was getting ragged as he ground himself down against my thigh, small, high-pitched whines escaping his throat. I wanted to see him come even more than I wanted it for myself. The screech from Relena, however, when she realized what we were doing was more than enough to derail any excitement.

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Please review!


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N:** Yes, I'm a tease, thank you. Enjoy!

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Having Heero underneath me and watching his face as I brought him pleasure was easily the most erotic and exciting thing I'd ever done. I'd taken myself in hand before, of course, but there was something completely different about doing it to someone else. He was a little thicker than me and I found it fascinating to feel the differences; it was like a fingerprint, similar but different for each person. His reactions, the way his eyes widened and darkened, the flush on his cheeks, the way he squirmed against me, were all serving to make me even more excited. I was groaning, pressing myself against his thigh even as I tried to focus solely on bringing him pleasure, when the door flew open behind us and I heard a very familiar voice yelling Heero's name.

My instinct was to leap off of Heero but I stayed myself, knowing that it wouldn't do any good: we were caught and Relena was not going to forget that easily. I slowly, regretfully, removed my hand from Heero's boxers and sat back on his thighs, absently tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I could have sworn Heero had locked the door before he'd come in, and when I glanced over my shoulder I somehow wasn't surprised to see Relena loosely clutching a set of lock picks. I made a mental note to track down the person who had taught that annoying girl how to pick locks and introduce them to the business end of Shinigami's scythe.

Heero muttered a string of detailed curses under his breath as he reached down and zipped his pants back up, fastening the button. He then sat up and glared at Relena. "What," he began dangerously, "do you think you were doing?"

"I knocked but there was no answer," Relena said, her eyes still wide. She looked between the two of us like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The door was still hanging open behind her and I shifted uneasily, realizing that anyone could walk by and see us. Heero's hands tightened painfully around my hips.

I had the feeling that Heero wanted me to move. I was still straddling his lap and the fact that he had sat up meant our chests were pressed together. His warmth was addictive but that wasn't why I was reluctant to move. He had a look on his face that would have sent a more perceptive person running for their lives. And while Relena was by no means stupid, much as I hated to admit it, she also had the stunning tendency to be as thick as a rock sometimes. She honestly couldn't seem to understand that Heero was about two seconds away from pulling out his gun and shooting her where she stood.

"Close the door, Relena," I said.

She jumped when I spoke and looked at me. The expression on her face was not unfamiliar to me, though it was certainly not appreciated. It was the kind of look you might give a sewer rat that was chewing on your shoe. I'd seen it several times when I was a child and it never failed to sting. I tensed in spite of myself and felt Heero's chest rumble with a warning growl. Relena paled a little and actually stepped further into the room, shutting the door behind her. I couldn't believe it. Had she been born without _any_ sense of self-preservation? Or was she so delusional that she really thought Heero wouldn't hurt her? I suspected that if I moved she would fast find out differently; either the glare from the lights was much worse than I realized or Heero's god was dangerously close to the surface, because his eyes had turned a fathomlessly dark shade of blue.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her, feeling that it was better I spoke. She might hate my guts but at least I wasn't inclined to kill her for just existing. Well, not yet, anyway.

"I came to see Heero," Relena replied, tilting her chin up mulishly. She tucked the lock picks back into her blouse, sliding them down between her breasts, and then rested her hand on her waist. The other dangled at her side, emphasizing the jutting angle of her hip. "I tried to catch up to him after class but he rushed back here so fast I didn't have the chance." The tone of her voice clearly implied that she thought this was somehow my fault.

"Relena, in case you failed to notice, we're not really students at this school. We're here because we have a mission," I said impatiently. I wasn't sure what bothered me more, the fact that she'd walked in on us without our noticing or that she was _still here_. "Heero doesn't have time to socialize with you. And even if he did, he wouldn't want to," I added under my breath.

"Oh, but he has time to be in here with you?" she asked coldly.

"What we do behind closed doors is none of your business. Go away."

"I need to talk to Heero and I'm not going until I do." Relena folded her arms across her chest and stuck her chin up. Her lips were set firmly together and there was an odd tilt to her head that suggested she was not going to leave until she had gotten what she wanted. I looked at the way her fingers had tightened on her arms, so compressed that her knuckles had turned white, and knew that I had to tread carefully.

"If you want to talk to him, maybe you should try approaching him at a normal time like a _normal_ person," I suggested. "It probably won't look very good if someone sees you sneaking into a boy's room after curfew." I arched an eyebrow, enjoying the way a dull flush spread up her cheeks. "Especially if they notice that you had to use lock picks to get in."

"Or you could both stop talking about me like I'm not here," Heero said. He sounded exasperated and I was reminded all over again of just how strong he was when his hands shifted, sliding underneath my thighs and lifting me up. I squeaked as he set me down on the bed and stood up, stalking over to Relena. Amazingly, she didn't seem to understand the dangerous movement, instead beaming broadly and holding her hands out to him.

"Heero, I knew you'd see it my way," she said brightly. "Let's go talk outside, okay?"

Heero just nodded and took her by the upper arm, pulling her none too gently outside the room. I watched the door close and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. My arousal had faded, leaving me feeling sticky and unsatisfied. I could've finished the job but it would've felt cheap after having been so close with Heero. And I also wasn't entirely sure I trusted Relena not to come barging back in. It was bad enough she'd caught us the first time. I slipped my legs off of the edge of the bed and stood up. Really, I should've taken a shower, but somehow I found myself standing beside the door, my head tilted just enough that I could press my ear against the wood.

At first I couldn't hear anything. The wood, for all that it was a dormitory door, was actually pretty solid and surprisingly thick. I frowned in annoyance and craned my neck further. I'd have a kink in it later but it would be worth it if I could hear what Relena and Heero were talking about. And then, distantly, muffled like they were speaking under water, I heard the sound of their voices. Relena was talking, rushed and harried, like she was trying to keep quiet but couldn't because she was speaking so fast. I jumped when all of a sudden her voice rose and I could hear her perfectly.

" - you don't understand, Heero. I just don't know what you see in him. I mean, I get that you need people to depend on during… during this difficult time. No one understands that better than me. What you do can be dangerous at times and you need a partner who will be there for you. But why can't I be that person? I could do so much for you if you would only let me try."

"You're the one who doesn't understand, Relena, and every word you speak only convinces me of that even more." Heero sounded angry.

"He was _on top_ of you, Heero! Tell me that you weren't doing what I think you were doing."

"I think we both know perfectly well what Alex and I were trying to do, and _stop saying my name_. We're supposed to be undercover and you're going to ruin that. You have no idea how much trouble we'll be in if we're caught!"

"_He's_ the one putting you in danger! God it's like he has you hypnotized or something like that. You can't see him for the dangerous little bastard that he actually is."

"Don't talk about him like that, Relena. I'm warning you."

Relena actually paused, and she was silent for so long that I thought I might have missed something. But no - when she spoke again she was clearly trying to restrain tears. "You know, it scares me, what you do, but I thought I could live with it. I knew you needed someone who would wait for you, who could be there with you when this is all over, and I'm willing to be that person no matter how much it hurts. I admit that I don't like to see you doing anything with him, but if this is what you think you need then I'm willing to bear it for the sake of our relationship. I know you're pushing me away to keep me safe, because you love me, and for you I'll tolerate it."

I couldn't listen to her anymore. I stumbled away from the door, feeling sick to my stomach. I'd always considered Relena a stalker, a fangirl, someone that Heero would never really care about by virtue of the fact that she drove him crazy. Yes, she was deluded, and yes she seemed to love in some weird parody of a fantasy world, but I'd never stopped to think about the fact that she was genuinely in love with him. What I heard in her voice, no one could fake that. Relena genuinely loved him and I didn't know what to do about that. I didn't know what Heero would do, either, and I was almost afraid to find out.

Almost mechanically, I opened up the closet. Heero, being Heero, had hung a few things up in the closet to give the room a more lived-in look. It never would have occurred to him that most teenaged boys would've been perfectly happy to live out of a suitcase unless someone forced them to unpack. There was a sweatshirt with a hood on the neck, something that I had only ever seen him wear once when it was so cold outside that it couldn't even snow. I grabbed it and pulled it over my head, tucking the hood securely around my face to help hide my hair. Then I went over to the window, pushed the pane up, and climbed out.

It was easy to swing my way down to the ground; I might not have known much about trees but I did know they provided excellent handholds, and someone had been foolish enough to plant a string of them right along the side of the dormitory. I hit the ground on a crouched knee and stood up, glancing around. No one was in view but that didn't mean I hadn't been seen. Not that it would really matter: I was sure that kids escaped from here all the time to go have some fun in the town. I'd fit right in, no doubt.

I started walking towards the back gate, which would let me out in the direction of the downtown. From there it would only take me about twenty minutes to get to the base. I could start checking it out early. I was trying not to think about Relena, kept trying to make myself go over the plans instead, but I wasn't being very successful. Really, I didn't know her that well; I'd only ever thought about her as Heero's weird stalker. I'd dismissed her. But she was more than that and she kept clinging to Heero and I couldn't understand why. What was it about Heero that made her so determined that the two of them would end up together?

"Hey, you!"

A hand fell on my shoulder, pressed down hard, spun me around. It was only pure luck that I didn't lash out, which was what I wanted to do, but I stalled the instinct. I found myself staring up at a tall woman with dark hair tied securely in a ponytail. She was attractive, with big blue eyes and brightly painted lips, but there was something in her face that made me vaguely uneasy. Her nails were digging into my shoulder even through Heero's sweatshirt. I squirmed under the force of her hand and she started, releasing me abruptly, though the frown didn't fade.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded. "Curfew went into effect twenty minutes ago, young man."

Fuck. I'd been so caught up in thinking about Heero and Relena that I'd wandered straight into the hands of a teacher. I glanced past to her, to where the door of the gate was only about ten feet away, and inwardly cursed myself. I could have been out of here by now if I'd been paying attention. "I was just going for a walk," I lied. Apparently it wasn't very convincing because she let out a huff and put her hands on her hips.

"I don't think so. You were heading towards the back gate, trying to sneak out, hmm? Well we'll just see what the principal has to say about that. What's your name?"

"Alex Smith," I replied, realizing that I had a few options. Number one, I could distract her and make a run for it, but it would mean I wouldn't be coming back, or at least not as a boy anyway. And also Heero would probably kill me. Number two meant going with her and hoping that the principal would realize she didn't have a case, since she hadn't actually caught me doing anything wrong. That wasn't appealing, especially because I wasn't wearing my wig or my contacts. I'd be in trouble if anyone took a close look at me. But I had no choice. My mind was racing as I nodded slowly and took a step forward, falling into place behind her as she marched back into the administrative part of the school. There were a few students roaming around and the sympathetic looks I got when they saw who I was following didn't give me much hope.

She led me straight to what I deemed to be the main office and told me to wait outside while she went into the inner office. As soon as the door was closed I launched myself out of my chair and over to the secretary's computer. Because it was late, she was already gone for the day and I knew I'd probably never have a better chance than now to look at her things without supervision. It was already on and, handily enough, she'd written her passwords down on a sticky note that had been pinned to the side of her monitor. I typed her password in and impatiently jiggled my foot while waiting for it to begin.

It only took me a couple of minutes to ascertain that there was nothing useful in terms of war information on her computer. Not exactly surprising but it was good to confirm. I did find a very helpful electronic agenda that included all of the principal's actions for the next month. Heero and I would have no problem picking out a time to search his office and his computer. I e-mailed a copy of it to myself and then hurriedly sent her computer back to sleep. I landed back in my hair just as the door to the inner office opened and that woman stepped through. She looked at me suspiciously and I regarded her with my most innocent expression in return. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw tightened.

"You can come in now," she said shortly, stepping aside and gesturing for me to do so.

I stood up and went in.

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Please review!


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! It's a bit shorter, but that's alright because this is the chapter I've been waiting for…

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Relena's impassioned words rang in my ears and for almost a full minute I just stood there and stared at her, speechless. I knew, of course, that she had thought of herself as something special to me, but I didn't know that her feelings for me ran so deep. It was... baffling. I'd never, not once, acted like there was even a chance of my returning Relena's feelings. I'd done everything I could to discourage her. So why then would she keep trying to convince me to like her? To love her? It didn't make any sense. Why wouldn't she just move on? She was, for all intents and purposes, a young, attractive girl who would someday likely be very influential. I knew there had to be people out there who would be attracted to her, so why didn't she go find one of them?

"I don't know what you want me to say," I said at last, feeling helpless. It wasn't an emotion that I liked, though I was rapidly becoming more familiar with it than I wanted. This wasn't something I could put into a computer and come up with a logical answer for; even I knew that emotions didn't work that way. At that moment, I wished that Quatre was here with me. He was good at talking to people and making them understand things. I had no experience with that. I had the feeling that no matter what I said to Relena, it wouldn't be what she wanted to hear.

"You don't have to say anything. I can understand you," she said then, giving me a shaky smile. "I just wanted you to know what's in my heart. I really care about you, Hee – ah, sorry. It just… it worries me that you might be going down a wrong path because you're not very good at feelings. I don't want you to make promises that you can't keep. That's not fair to anyone." She shot a significant look at the door and I knew she was talking about Duo.

It bothered me that I couldn't tell whether she was being sincere or not. I frowned and crossed my arms. "Well, that's not really any of your concern," I pointed out.

"No, I suppose right now, it's not," she agreed with a tiny smile. "Will you come down to the cafeteria with me? I know it's not your thing, but I told some of my friends that I would be coming to invite you down to join us. And it would look strange if you refused, being that you're new here and should want to meet everyone." She blinked at me.

I sighed. It was the last thing I wanted to do. True, I didn't feel like having sex with Duo anymore, but I wanted to go explore the base and then come back and pull him into bed with me and fall asleep with him wrapped in my arms. Still, Relena had a point. We weren't supposed to be drawing attention to ourselves and if it would look strange that we declined, then I'd have to go. But that didn't mean I couldn't bring Duo with me. I turned and put a hand on the knob, pushing the door open. I was expecting to see Dup waiting for us, possibly even listening at the door, but to my surprise there was no sign of him. I walked into the room and looked around, realizing that my closet door was hanging open. A quick examination revealed that my sweatshirt was missing, though his wig and contacts were still in the room.

"That baka!" I hissed under my breath, looking at the open window. There was no doubt in my mind that he'd gone out without wearing the proper protection. If he ran into anyone who noticed our whole mission, not to mention our safety, could be compromised.

"Something wrong?" Relena asked, poking her head into the room.

"Duo's gone," I said flatly.

"Oh." She didn't look overly upset at this news. "Well, why don't you come down with me for a while and maybe he'll be back by the time that you return? He's not a little kid, after all. I'm sure he can take care of himself for a while."

I hesitated, torn. My instinct was to go after Duo, but maybe Relena was right. I couldn't help remembering the way Duo had snapped at me for overcrowding him. He'd wanted space and maybe this was another indicator of that. If I went after him, would I just be making it worse? I sighed. "Alright, let's go."

"Great!" Beaming, she waited for me to close and lock the door before she latched onto my arm. We were about the same height, which made it easier to walk with her hands enfolded around my elbow, though it still felt awkward. It was easier than prying her off, though. I allowed her to lead us down towards the cafeteria. It involved going outside the dormitory and walking towards the building about a hundred feet away. I hadn't eaten yet today and I had to admit, as we went inside, that I was hungry. Relena caught me glancing towards the area where they were serving food and giggled.

"Let's get something," she suggested. "I could use a snack."

"Alright," I said reluctantly, uncomfortable with how genuinely happy this appeared to make her. My presence had never made anyone act like this; it was... confusing, at best. I didn't know why she seemed to get so much joy out of being with me. It wasn't like I was going out of my way to talk to her or do anything for her. She was the one who paid for our meals, though I did pick up the trays and carry them over to the table she had indicated. She sat down across from me and pulled her tray towards her.

"My friends are gone," she noted, looking around the room. "I guess we took too long."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. You can meet them tomorrow. We're in a lot of the same classes," she answered.

I just nodded. I doubted that I would be in the mood for socializing tomorrow if Duo and I had to be up all night looking at that base. But it seemed to be easier to just agree than to try to force the issue with her. I looked down at my tray and picked up my sandwich, biting into it and chewing slowly. It had nothing on Trowa's cooking, but it was food and I had learned not to be overly picky. I ate while Relena chattered about every topic under the sun. After a while it was like she forgot who she was sitting with and her usual panicky, somewhat shrill voice settled into a midrange alto that was actually pleasant to listen to. It was a welcome surprise. I began to see how other people might enjoy being with her because she could be a nice person, it seemed, when she wasn't being a stalker.

By the time I was finished, Relena hadn't touched her meal, but she still got up to get us dessert. I sighed but let her go. Maybe if I spent this time with her she would be willing to keep her distance for the next few days. She returned with a couple of pieces of chocolate cake covered with some kind of nuts. I took one of the slices and began to eat. It was getting dark outside and I had to hurry if I was going to meet up with Duo so that we could scout out the base. I hoped that he was back at the room by now. Relena folded her hands and watched me eat.

"Heero," she said, her voice very soft.

I swallowed and looked up at her. There was no point in telling her off for using my real name. I knew she'd just ignore it. "What?"

"Do you really believe you love Duo?"

Her words turned my stomach. "I don't believe that, I _know_ that," I said tensely.

"Why him?"

It was a question that no one else had dared to ask me. I just stared at her for a long moment, taken aback and unsure of how to answer. What was it about Duo? I didn't know if I could put into words everything that attracted me to him. I definitely wasn't sure I wanted to be saying those things to Relena, of all people. The result was that the silence stretched on. I grew increasingly uncomfortable while Relena's smile widened. She reached out and put her hand on top of mine.

"You can tell me," she said quietly. "I just want to know if it's because you don't know any better."

"Relena," I said sharply, pulling my hand away like I'd be stung. "That's not it at all. I care for Duo because he understands. Even after all that he… that we've been through, he still remains a bright person who is in tune with his emotions. I envy him for that." I paused, startled by my own words, before forging on. "What you're trying to imply about me and him is wrong. You're acting like Duo has somehow tricked me into thinking that he's more than he is. That's not true. I know him better than anyone else" or at least I hoped I did "and I know what he's capable of."

"If you know what he's capable of, then I don't know why you're defending him." She sat back and folded her arms. "Eat the rest of your cake. Then you can walk me back to my room."

Anything to get rid of her. I consumed the rest of the cake, washed it down with a gulp of tea, and carried our trays over to the counter. I felt a little lightheaded as I walked over to the door where Relena was standing, waiting for me. I shook it off and trailed her out of the cafeteria, keeping an eye out for Duo, but there was no sign of him. I really hoped that he hadn't gotten into trouble. It would be just like him to attract so much attention on our very first day at a new school!

The girl's dormitory where Relena was staying - and I had to admit I was surprised she was choosing to stay on campus - was about a five minute walk from the cafeteria. Fortunately, Relena didn't seem to be expecting me to talk to her on the way there. She was moving stiffly, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and I had the feeling that she was probably mad at me. Tough. Maybe she was finally getting the hint that, regardless of how I felt about Duo, there would never be anything between the two of us. I just didn't see Relena in that way.

It became immediately obvious why she'd wanted me to walk her back. There were some girls milling around the common room as we entered and all eyes were on us instantly. Relena preened and I fought the urge to run in the opposite direction as we walked down the hall to her room. "Alright," I said, leaning against the wall next to her door. I was tired and thinking about going back to have a short rest before we staked out the base. "You're here in one piece. I'm leaving."

"Wait a moment," Relena urged, unlocking her door and pushing it open. "I have something I need to show you. I guarantee you're going to like it." She was smiling.

I sighed and pushed myself off of the wall. The hallway spun a little and I stopped, disoriented. Relena put a hand on my shoulder and guided me into her room. She shut the door behind us and turned on the light. It seemed to be really bright and I put a hand over my eyes to shield them. It was a large room with a single bed that already had someone on it. I'm ashamed to admit that I stared dumbly at the woman on the bed for several seconds, trying to make my sluggish mind work. It was like someone had given me a map but I was having a hard time stringing the details together. Why would Lady Une be in Relena's bedroom?

"I brought him," Relena said. Her voice sounded like it was very far away. I felt her hands on my arm and then she was pulling me over to the bed. Une stood up and moved, allowing Relena to push me down where she had been. My knees hit the back of the mattress and folded automatically, sending me sprawling onto the bed. It felt impossibly hard to sit up.

"Good job, Relena," Une praised her sweetly and Relena beamed. "You've been doing so well for me. We're going to bring peace to this planet together, aren't we?"

"You bet." Relena was smiling, her eyes shining as she clasped her hands together. "Oh, Heero, don't struggle," she advised, turning to look at me. "The drug that I gave you is so strong that it could even take a god like you down with no problem. My lady made sure of that."

"Yes, didn't want you escaping after we finally have you in our grasp," Une said with a triumphant smirk. She leaned over me and I saw that her eyes were nearly black, gleaming with the power of a god. A cold chill ran down my spine. "You're my counterpart, did you know?" she murmured softly, leaning down to touch my cheek. "You've been the one working against me to bring war to this planet when I've been trying so hard to make peace. I knew I had to stop you and this was the only way without things getting too messy. Fortunately it was so easy to bring my messenger under my control and that for a god you are so very trusting."

I wanted to speak, to say something, but it was like my vocal chords had failed me. Lady Une just smiled and ran her fingers up across my forehead and into my hair. It was a pantomime of a soothing gesture; her fingers were icy to the touch and I felt a shiver run down my spine. My whole body felt heavy and I regretted trusting Relena to get that dessert. No wonder she hadn't touched her own, not when it was spiked with some kind of drug. It was taking everything I had to keep my eyes open.

"You won't hurt him, right?" Relena asked in a muffled tone.

"I'm going to try not to," Une replied. My vision was going fuzzy. The last thing I heard her say was, "but I'm the goddess of peace, Relena dear, and sometimes you have to do what is necessary."

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	30. Chapter 30

**A/N:** This chapter may be a bit of a surprise. Enjoy!

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I didn't see Heero again until the war ended.

When I got back to the dorm that night, he was gone. I didn't know where or why. I waited around for a couple of hours until it was truly dark, but when he didn't show I figured that he'd gone to the base without me. He hadn't. I scouted by myself and devised a plan that I thought would work. I stole back to the dorms in the early morning light of dawn, believing that the two of us had just missed each other. He wasn't there. I grew worried as the day went by, to the point where I even approached Relena to see if she knew where he had gone. She just looked at me coldly and shook her head, like I wasn't worth the time it would take to speak to me.

All of Heero's things were still in the room, even that which he wouldn't leave without, like his laptop. When three more days went by and he didn't show up, I checked out the principal, who turned out to be innocent, and then infiltrated the base by myself and blew it up. I didn't experience any of the normal satisfaction I would've felt, watching the fireworks afterwards. Instead of going back to the school, I checked on our Gundams. I didn't know if it made me feel better or worse to know that Wing was gone. The place where he'd been was empty and Deathscythe looked very alone out there all by herself. I climbed inside and wondered if I should send out a distress call. What good would it do if I didn't have any proof that Heero hadn't just walked of his own free will?

Eventually I left the school, taking his things with me. I met up with the others, who were shocked and concerned when they found out about Heero's disappearance. All of us scoured the airwaves in between missions, looking for some sign he'd been captured, but there was nothing. Even the scientists didn't have any ideas as to where he could have been. No one had heard anything; it was like Heero had packed up and walked away of his own free will that day, like he'd gotten tired of being a Gundam Pilot and decided to quit without any warning. It boggled me. I knew that Heero would never do that but how could one person vanish so thoroughly? For all of our resources, how could we be coming up with nothing?

It tormented me, the thought that Oz might have captured him and we just didn't know. I was convinced that he must have left some sort of sign that we had missed. I spent weeks working my way through his laptop, trying to figure out his coding. He was much more accomplished at hacking than I was and it took forever to get anywhere, but I had to do it. I couldn't let the idea of him, of us, die. Something had broken when Heero disappeared and I didn't know how to fix it. I thought that he might be the only one who could.

"You're going to drive yourself crazy, Duo," Quatre said to me once. It was about two weeks after Heero had disappeared. We were all stressed and worn out, exhausted with the effort of trying to do so much on very little fuel. What would've been Heero's missions had been divided between the four of us and it was more than we used to.

"Please, Quat," I said, not turning my gaze away from his screen. I meant 'please give me silence' but he didn't take it that way.

"I know you think Heero's still out there. And personally I think you're right. I can feel him. But it won't help if you make yourself ill from working too hard." I could feel his stare burning into my back but I didn't respond, and then he got mad. "Don't you think the rest of us miss Heero too? Don't you think it kills me that he was taken so easily and we have no idea where he is? But this… this isn't helping! We can't afford to lose you too!"

That stopped me. I let my hands go lax on the keyboard and then I turned around to look at him. There were tears in his eyes. I'd never seen Quatre cry before. "I'm sorry," I said softly, feeling guilty. "I just… Quatre, I can't stand it. Heero would never give up on me or any of us if we had been captured. I keep thinking that he's out there somewhere waiting for us to find him."

Quatre ran a hand through his already mussed up hair and tried to smile. It came out crooked. "Maybe he is. But he would want us to focus on the war and on remaining healthy enough to make this work." He took a step towards me and put a hand on my arm. After a moment of hesitation, I turned to face him fully, taking my hands off of the keys. He rubbed my arm soothingly and his hand was warm. His face was full of quiet sympathy. "I miss him too, Duo."

My throat hurt and I couldn't bring myself to say anything. Maybe I didn't have to. Quatre seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. He brought his other hand up and rested it on my shoulder and he kept rubbing at my arm. After a while it didn't hurt to breathe anymore and we went downstairs together to watch Trowa make dinner. And after we were done eating, I didn't go back to working on Heero's laptop, but stayed and helped Quatre with the dishes and then we sat down and watched a movie.

I thought I could come to terms with it. But every once in a while something would happen, be it during a mission or not, that would make me think Heero was much closer than we realized. If it was him, he never showed his face, never left any proof, and so I was left to wonder if maybe it was just my imagination that made me think he was still out there. For all I knew, he'd been killed while I was sitting in the principal's office, submitting to the world's most boring lecture on why students have to remain on campus after a certain time, and we had just never discovered where his body had been hidden. It was as likely as any of the other scenarios that plagued me on a regular basis. I couldn't forget.

Wufei and I began to be paired together during missions. It was hard to work with him. He was like Heero in many ways and yet completely different from him in others, and I was reminded of that constantly. I was there the day that he and Treize fought and he finally beat the man in an honest sword fight. As Treize went to his knees, hands cupping the growing spot of blood, I ran to Wufei's side. I wanted to congratulate him but I knew there would be time for that later, when a dying man wasn't in front of us. And in the end, I was glad I hadn't, because Treize looked up at us, eyes surprisingly clear, and said something I will never forget.

"Pilot 01 is still alive. Don't stop searching for him."

Then his head rolled back and his eyes fell shut and he stopped breathing. I wanted to fling myself down next to him and beg him to tell me more, but at the same time I could tell that there was no point. Before my eyes, a glowing orb left his body and flew up into the sky. I tilted my head back to watch it go. Treize was at peace now, I knew, and yet he had left us with more questions than ever. If Heero was alive, why hadn't he contacted us? Why had he left that day? Had he been working behind the scenes all this time to bring peace to the world? All of the questions swirled through my mind and I clenched my fists, frustrated by the realization that we had been so close, only to fall short of knowing what had truly happened.

"Duo," Wufei said behind me. His voice was gentle, as much as I had ever heard it, and I knew he was trying to avoid startling me or invoking my anger. "We need to get out of here. If we're caught then you know the soldiers will shoot without stopping to see who we are."

I did know. Quatre had nearly died on a mission last week because of it. I forced myself to stand up, my heart in my throat, and couldn't say anything to him. He seemed to understand, because he didn't speak to me as he turned around and walked over to the door. He barred it shut, preventing anyone from getting in and knowing what had happened before we were ready for it, and then went over to the window. I followed numbly, wishing that I had intervened in the fight before the killing blow was struck. What else might Treize have been able to tell us?

We escaped the base and made it back to our Gundams. Because we'd hidden in a good, safe spot, we decided to wait until the initial reaction had died down a bit before escaping. Wufei sat down to clean his katana. I hovered, watching him. His god hadn't come out during the battle but I could sense that it was there just beneath the surface, no doubt pleased to have finally brought that long fight to a worthy end. Treize had died a soldier's death and now the better man was left behind. Wufei sensed me watching him. He looked at me.

"Problem?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You're a god of justice," I said. It wasn't what I had been intending to say. It just slipped out.

He smiled. "Yes."

"You would've fought him to the death. You would've died."

"I didn't, though," he said.

I didn't say anything.

Wufei sighed. He put his katana back into the sheath. "It would've been the right thing to do," he said, and then, "No mortal has beaten me yet, Duo, not when it really mattered. Treize was a good fighter but it was my time to win and his time to pass onto your realm." He stood up. "Now, let's get out of here before we push our luck too far and we're found, alright?"

I just nodded. We got into our Gundams and made our escape. The world was falling apart around us as the war came to an end. Without Treize and with the other leaders succumbing to the pressure or death, it would only be a matter of time before things were over. I pressed my cheek against the headrest and wondered what Heero would've thought about that. Would he have been pleased? Relieved that this was all over? Or would he have been cautiously optimistic about our future once we no longer needed as Gundam Pilots? And then, under that in my deepest thoughts, would he have left me for Relena? She had become quite the figurehead as Queen of the World before Treize took it away from her. She could have everything now.

Wufei left again as soon as we got to the safehouse. I was alone for a while, a couple of days, and it was good to have the chance to distance myself a little as best I could. It was all ruined of course as soon as one of the others joined me; they were my gang now, Shinigami's brothers, and it was impossible for me to forget that. When Trowa showed up one morning I was happy to see him in spite of myself, even though I could have used a few more days on my own. He was quiet, at least, cooking breakfast for me and Kin and serving all three of us before he sat down and joined me.

"Where's Q?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Mission," he said shortly.

I nodded and looked down at the stir fry, poking at it with my fork. It always made him and Quatre a bit short tempered when they were separated. "Wufei left as well," I said, even though he likely already knew that. We kept closer tabs on each other now.

"I know. He told me what Treize said."

The quiet comment was enough to make me stiffen a little. That was the other, more annoying part, of keeping track of everyone. It seemed like secrets weren't long kept, especially not about stuff like this that was deemed important. I would've told them, of course - Heero's disappearence had been hard on all of us and I wouldn't have had a choice - but it would've been nice to have been able to have had the information to myself for a while. Still, that wasn't the way things worked, not anymore. I stabbed at a piece of a chicken. "Did he?" I said finally, my voice dull.

Trowa sighed. "Duo, don't be like that. I know that you're having a hard time with this. I would be too if it was Quatre." His green eyes flickered at the thought and Kin's head went up. The dog let out a low whine and Trowa threw out a hand that silenced him immediately, thought it didn't escape my notice that Kin continued to watch us. The more time he spent around Trowa, the more intelligent that dog became. It was eerie, sometimes. Trowa looked at me and said, "We all want Heero back. It's good news, what Treize said."

"I know it is," I said, softening a little. "It's just... It's been a while."

"A few months," Trowa said with a faint smile. "I bet Heero looks the same, though."

"You think?" I rested my chin on my hand. I'd wondered about that myself. A few months wasn't so very long. I didn't think I'd changed much, not really. I hoped Heero hadn't either. I liked him the way he was. "Do you think he's alright, Trowa?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I hope that he is. I'm not sure how we would recover if he wasn't." His expression turned serious. "We're going to find him, Duo. I promise you that. There's no place on this Earth that he can be hidden forever."

I felt a knot of tension in my chest relax at Trowa's determination. Okay, it was nice to have someone to lean on. "I know," I said, and I did, but sometimes it was good to have brothers who could remind me of that. His words had fuelled my own desire to see Heero again sometime soon. I vowed to myself that no matter what, we would find out what had happened.

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Please review!


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N:** A couple of people have asked and so I'll tell you, yes this story will be ending fairly soon. Another handful of chapters, I'd think. Also this chapter breaks pattern... We're continuing with Duo's POV. Enjoy!

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The only thing worse then seeing Relena in person was watching her on the television screen. I pulled my knees up closer to my chest and leaned forward, hunching my shoulders. I was dreading the press release that was about to be aired, but I couldn't keep myself from watching it, like poking at a bruise. I justified it by telling myself that I needed a break from monitoring the Preventers' newsfeed, which I had been watching to see if they had found any mention of Heero. It wasn't impossible to imagine that he had been hidden away in a prison or a base during the war, and if that was the case then the Preventers would know before anyone else did.

The safe house where we had been staying was empty except for me and Kin, though for possibly the first time since Heero had disappeared it wasn't because of a mission. Quatre and Trowa had gone out somewhere (Quatre refused to tell me where but he was blushing when I asked so I was fairly certain that they had gone out on a date) and Wufei was doing some repair work on our Gundams. We weren't sure what would happen to them now that the war seemed to be ending, especially since we didn't have the full set.

I looked back at the screen. Relena was just walking on stage, wearing a light purple gown that fit tightly around her bust. It was designed to make her look a little older, no doubt, since she was wearing her hair up in a bun instead of down around her face. She was accompanied by her brother, who didn't exactly look comfortable at being in the public eye. I suspected it was only Relena's influence that had gotten Zechs there in the first place. Relena, for what it was worth, looked perfectly comfortable as she stepped up to the microphone. The music in the background cut off sharply and a hushed silence fell.

"Good afternoon my fellow citizens under the Earth Sphere United Nations Act," she said, her every word crisp and clear. "I would like to take a moment to thank all of you for coming, and to all of you who are watching at home, thank you for giving us your time. It has taken a great deal of effort and work for us to reach a place when we could see the end of the war, and I am blessed to be able to be here with all of you to see it happen." A smile graced her lips and she lifted her head a little. "If it were not for the help of certain people who never stopped fighting for our freedom, I wouldn't be."

I made a face, knowing she was referring to Heero, and jumped when a warm tongue touched my hand. Kin looked up at me and wagged his tail slowly. I put my hand on his head and rubbed his fur, staring at the television as Relena launched into a well rehearsed speech about the things they were doing to ensure that the war had truly ended and that relief was being sent out to everyone who needed it. It was all a bunch of tripe to me. I wasn't sure I wanted to take Relena's word on anything she said, mostly because I wouldn't have put it past her to have been parroting a speech someone else had written.

"See her, Kin?" I said, pointing at the screen. "We don't like her. If you ever see her, make sure you leave a present in her shoes."

"I'm not sure you should be teaching him that, Duo." I jumped again at the sound of the voice, inwardly hating myself for being so paranoid, and turned my head. Wufei was standing in the doorway and in spite of his admonishing tone he was smirking. "Trowa probably wouldn't appreciate you trying to overturn all of the training he has put into that dog."

"Considering that we're not even supposed to have one…" I stroked Kin's head again and he nuzzled my fingers. Somehow we'd never gotten around to dropping Kin off at the vet like Heero had wanted us to. One way or another he showed up at the next safe house every time. I suspected that the Maganacs had a lot to do with that, though Quatre had never confirmed it.

Wufei just shook his head indulgently. He didn't like dogs much but even he had a fondness for Kin. I watched as he walked over to the stairs and took them two at a time before I reluctantly turned my attention back to the television. Relena was in the middle of talking about the Preventers and how much good they were doing. As she talked she was joined on the stage by Lady Une. I felt the hair rise on the back of my neck and I shifted uneasily, pinned in place only by Kin's heavy weight as Une took over the microphone.

There were rumors about Une, about the things she'd said and done during the war, about how she'd lost it after Treize was killed. Apparently she had freaked out when she heard and it had taken a while to talk her down. I'd heard the whispers that even now she wasn't quite right in the head: that she was unbalanced and it was only a matter of time before she snapped completely. Sometimes I wondered if Wufei was safe or if she would come after him one day in some strange bid to get revenge for Treize.

Just because she was the head of the Preventers didn't necessarily mean she had become a good person. I'd seen my fair share of people who were capable of being excellent actors.

"I hope she stays away from us," I said softly to Kin. Out of the few people who knew who we were, no one had come near us yet. It was like they were all afraid that we might be the ones who would lose it. The four of us had seen things during the way that everyone would much prefer be lost to the ages; I knew it was only a matter of time before someone came looking. I put my head down on Kin's side and tried not to think about it.

Une's speech dragged on until even the officials on the television began to look tired. I yawned and closed my eyes, feeling tired. The days seemed long and lazy without anything to do and my body had apparently taken it as permission to catch up on sleep. Kin huffed out a sigh and leaned his head on my shoulder. He was warm, a direct counter to the chill in the air, and I sleepily curled myself around him as Une finally left the stage. I was debating on staying awake long enough to see who would be next when I heard it.

The front door opened.

I tensed, my hand immediately flying to my gun. I kept it on me at all times. Before I could pull it out, though, someone was leaning over me and thin, cold fingers curled around my wrist. The smell of roses flooded my nose and I blinked, jerking my head up to see that it was Relena. Her hair was still up in the fancy style that she'd been wearing during the press release, but she'd changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. I stared at her with my mouth open. I couldn't ever remember seeing Relena look so… normal. If it hadn't been for the hair she could have passed for a regular teenager.

"Relena?" I said, wondering if I had fallen asleep and this was some very odd dream. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"Maxwell," she said and her voice was low and strained. She was thinner than I remembered, smaller, and her face was pale. Her hair had lost its luster and shine. Even with the make-up she was wearing I could see the rings under her eyes.

"Relena," I said again. I sat up as best I could and gently took hold of her hand, prying it off my wrist. I could've put my index finger and thumb around her wrist with no problem. She sank down onto the couch with me like I'd issued her an invitation and unconsciously I pressed back, not wanting to have any more contact with her than was absolutely necessary. I still recalled the icy cold look she'd given me the day I asked her about Heero, though it didn't seem that that girl was the one visiting me today.

"Oh, you were watching." Her eyes were trained on the television. Now it was showing some foreign dignitary. There was still a Relena on the stage with him and the difference between the two girls was staggering. I looked at the screen and then back at her.

"Hang on, I thought that was supposed to be live?" I said.

"Some parts of it are. The parts that don't include me." She put her hand on my knee and gripped it hard. I stared down at the point of contact, wondering if I should bother trying to make her let go when she seemed to be determined to hold onto me in some way. I gave up and folded my arms instead, trying to ignore the fact that her skin was so cold even through my pants that it was making me want to shiver.

It can be counted amongst the most bizarre experiences of my life, sitting there with Relena Darlian and watching the rest of the press release. She didn't say anything to me and after the first few of my questions went unanswered I fell into a frustrated silence, switching my gaze between her and the television at regular intervals. I ached to know what she was doing here and why she had bothered to sit down on the couch beside me. I was pretty sure Relena hated me and I certainly didn't have any fondness for her. I didn't even understand why _I_ was willing to sit there with her, except that she looked almost afraid.

At some point, after a lot more speeches that all said pretty much the same thing, the press release ended and the screen switched over to the news. I realized that the grip on my knee had lightened and twisted to see that Relena had fallen asleep. Her head was tilted back against the couch cushions and her mouth was open a little. A thin stream of drool had run down her cheek. Her other hand was open on the couch beside her. I looked at her for a long time before I stood up and ushered Kin into the spot where I had been. I put her hand down on top of his fur and he curled into her, head alertly facing the door. That was the other thing that having a dog was good for: no one would ever get in unless we wanted them to. I tried not to think about what that meant for the fact that Relena had gotten in.

Once I was sure she'd remain sleeping I went to the steps and climbed them. I could hear the sounds of the shower going and I put my hand on the knob. I wasn't sure which of us had started the act of leaving doors unlocked but now we all did it most of the time, and a locked door was a sure sign to avoid knocking, much less entering. Fortunately this one gave easily and I pushed the door open. Wufei's silhouette was just visible behind the shower curtain. When he heard the door open he pushed the curtain back a bit and looked at me, hair loose in a dark curtain around his face. I didn't know what he was going to say but when he saw me his jaw snapped shut and he frowned.

"Duo, what's wrong?" He switched the shower off and grabbed his towel, fastening it loosely around his waist before he pulled the curtain back all the way. I leaned against the doorframe as he came over to me. "Did something happen?" he asked and I knew he was thinking of Quatre and Trowa.

"No, it's just…" I fumbled, unsure of how to explain that Relena was in the house. "Get dressed and come downstairs."

Wufei's frown deepened but he nodded. I turned and faced the other direction, listening to the sounds of the towel hitting the floor and clothing being donned. About a minute later he put his hand on my shoulder as a sign that he was ready. I didn't turn around but stepped forward, trusting that he would follow, and he did, trailing me silently down the steps and into the living room. We stopped at the same time and I heard his sharp intake of breath when he caught sight of Relena and Kin. She'd moved a little, nuzzling into the dog's warmth, but it was still unmistakably her.

"What," he said slowly, "is she doing here?"

"That's what I'd like to know," I said, spreading my hands and shrugging. "She just… showed up." I hoped he wouldn't ask me why I hadn't kicked her out because I didn't know the answer. "She didn't say anything. She just wanted to watch the press release with me." I was very aware that it sounded foolish.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright. We'll wait for her to wake up, find out what she wants, and then make her leave."

I certainly wasn't going to protest. I trailed him into the kitchen and lingered in the doorway where I could watch both of them at once. I wondered how long Relena would sleep for. She looked exhausted but I didn't think Wufei, Quatre or Trowa would tolerate her crashing on the couch for more than an hour or so. I couldn't understand why_ I_ was willing to let her sleep there, except that I kept remembering the desperate way she'd held onto my leg.

Relena was stirring by the time Wufei had finished making tea. I watched as she stood up, a glazed look in her eyes, and started walking towards the door. I couldn't believe she was leaving without even acknowledging us. "Where are you going?" I demanded in exasperation, stomping over to her. "You can't just leave." I grabbed her arm.

She stopped and stared at the door for a minute before slowly her head turned and she looked at me blankly. Finally she said, "Maxwell?" in this small voice that made her sound like a child.

"Yes, it's me," I said. Was she on drugs? I started to let go of her arm and she made a terrified noise and grabbed my hand.

"No, please, don't," she pleaded, clinging to me so tightly that my fingers ached. "If you let go they'll be able to get to me again."

"What do you mean, they?" I asked, pausing. Her reply was completely unexpected.

"The goddess and her minions, they've got Heero, they took him, and I finally escaped so that I could tell you about it." She looked desperate. "Please, you've got to help him."

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Please review!


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! Sorry to everyone who was hoping for a Heero chapter; we continue with Duo. Enjoy!

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I just stared at Relena for a couple of minutes, trying to work through what she'd told me. Eventually Wufei came in from the kitchen and took Relena by the shoulders, steering her and by extension me, since we were still holding hands, inside. He sat us both down in chairs at the table and went to the phone, no doubt to call Quatre and Trowa. Once he'd spoken to them he hung up and making something to eat. He'd become a lot more proficient in the kitchen during the last few months, especially when the concept of preparing food basically amounted to putting Trowa's creations into the microwave and pushing start.

Relena looked at the bowl of soup he put in front of her like she didn't know what it was for. She was still holding onto me with her right hand and she picked the spoon up awkwardly with her left. I couldn't help noticing that her hand visibly trembled as she brought the spoonful of soup to her mouth, to the point where half the soup leaked back into the bowl. Still, she refused to let go of me. Wufei and I exchanged glances. Neither of us was about to feed her, but it was clearer than ever that something bad had happened to Relena Darlian.

By the time we were finished eating, Quatre and Trowa were back. I heard Kin barking happily moments before the front door opened, and then Quatre shushed him in a soft voice as they came into the kitchen. He stiffened a little when he saw Relena. The two of them weren't on the best of terms, not since it had been announced that Quatre was going to be the new heir of Winner Industries following his father's abrupt change of heart. He and Trowa sat down and accepted cups of tea from Wufei. Then we all looked at Relena, who was still carefully making her way through the soup. It took her a moment to notice our attention and when she did she flushed pink and grabbed her napkin, dabbing hastily at her mouth.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I haven't eaten in…" A momentary look of confusion passed over her face. "Well, it's been a while."

"Why are you here?" I asked her, wanting to get straight to the point. "You said you knew where Heero was and who took him." I carefully avoided any mention of gods or goddesses just in case Relena didn't remember that part. By the way she looked at me, though, she knew exactly what I was talking about.

"I do," she replied. "That's why I came. It took everything I had to be able to walk away, you know. I thought I would _never_ get here." Her eyes lowered to where she was still holding onto my hand. "Please don't let go of me. The strength of your power is enough to block the hold she has over me when I'm awake. If you let go then she'll be able to cloud my mind again." She sounded terrified by that prospect and I instinctively curled my hand, holding onto her in return for the first time.

"Who are you talking about, Relena?" Quatre asked gently, and I could tell by the expression on his face that he was feeling her emotions and didn't like it.

"It's… it's the goddess of peace," Relena revealed, her head lowered. Her delicate hairstyle was starting to fall out, strands tumbling around her face. She looked like a mess. "She was… angry when the war wasn't going in their favor. She decided to kidnap the god of war and put him out of commission so that Oz could win. But it didn't work. I don't think she realized that the four of you would be enough to turn the tide even without Heero."

By the way Relena was talking it was obvious she knew that we were gods. I licked my lips, unnerved by the idea that someone else knew about us. "If you knew where Heero was, why didn't you tell me when I asked you?"

"I wanted to! God, Maxwell, you have no idea how hard it was to turn you away. But I had no choice. She can control my thoughts and even my actions, sometimes, when she's strong enough. She didn't want you to know and so I couldn't tell you." Tears were forming in Relena's eyes. "I'm her emissary. There's a link between us that I don't know how to get rid of."

"A messenger of peace," Quatre said softly and I knew he'd just realized something. I shot him a curious look but he shook his head, a silent request to leave it for later.

Relena nodded. "And now that the war has ended I'm scared to find out what she might do. She hasn't hurt Heero but I'm worried that she might out of revenge for what happened." Her hand was shaking. A tear slipped down her cheek. "She's… unbalanced. I think that being around the war and actively participating in it has driven her over the edge. She's not meant to be here and I don't know what to do anymore." Her face crumpled and she put her free hand over her eyes, and it was obvious that she was crying for real now.

"Who is she?" Wufei asked. "Who is this goddess of peace?"

I thought I knew. I said, "It's Une. Isn't it?" and she looked at me and nodded.

"Une! The head of the Preventers?" Quatre looked astonished. He'd dealt with Une before on several occasions and I knew he was wondering how he had missed this. We were all getting better at being gods but none of us were experts and probably wouldn't ever be. There was only so much you could expect from a mortal body, after all, and Une probably had ways of hiding what she was.

"Yes," Relena confirmed in a tiny voice. "She first approached me after a party several months ago. I was on the run and she caught up to me. I didn't think anything of it… I knew who she was but not what she could do. At first it didn't sound so bad. I mean, the goddess of peace? I just thought she was crazy until she proved it. And then, well, we've been fighting for so long that I didn't know what else to do. I agreed to help her thinking that it would be for the best. I didn't know that she would do this, I swear."

"I believe you," I said. It was the truth. Relena was a lot of things, but one thing I had never doubted about her was that she loved Heero more than anything else in the world. She showed it in the wrong way, but that didn't change the strength of her love, and I knew she wouldn't have hurt Heero or helped anyone hurt him for anything. Une, on the other hand, would have no such problems. War and Peace were natural enemies. It would be like me coming face to face with the goddess of life. I wondered how certain Relena could be about whether or not Une had ever hurt Heero when she wasn't around.

"How did you know?" Trowa asked, glancing at me.

"Just a lucky guess. Relena and I were watching the press release together." I didn't want to go into how uncomfortable Une made me feel. Now I was realizing that there was a good chance a small part of that might have been Shinigami trying to warn me. I just hadn't been listening. The sickly feeling of guilt and regret made me squirm. Would we have been able to find Heero sooner if I had listened to what those feelings were trying to tell me?

Quatre narrowed his eyes at me and I recognized the 'we're going to talk about this later' expression that lit up in his face. "Where is Heero being kept, Relena?"

"I can't tell you. There's some kind of compulsion on me that prevents it. Frankly I'm amazed that I was able to tell you this much." Relena smiled bitterly. "You must be very strong, Maxwell, to be able to block so much of her power. I haven't felt this clear-headed in ages."

"Maybe," I said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. I thought it might have had something to do with the fact that Heero was my partner. War and Death go hand in hand. Une probably hated me just as much, except that death was a natural part of human life so she probably had no choice.

Wufei folded his hands together. "Can you show us where Heero is being kept?"

"Yes, I think so. It would be better if we waited until the day after tomorrow, though. Une is going away on some kind of mission for the Preventers. Right now she's busy getting ready for it. She's distracted and not paying as much attention and that's how I was able to get away from her in the first place. My guards brought me back to my room, but one of them likes me, feels sorry for me, I think, and he looked the other way while I went out the window. I came straight here. I'll have to go back; she always visits me and Heero before she goes anywhere just to make sure, but… but you could come for me, and I could show you the way." The desperate hope in her eyes was hard to look at.

"We will," Quatre told her firmly. "We won't leave you there, Relena."

Her eyes filled with tears again but she didn't cry. She just nodded and swallowed and said, "Then I have to go. I've probably risked a lot just by being here for as long as I have. I shouldn't have fallen asleep. Thank you for listening to me and not throwing me out." She looked at me.

"You're welcome," I muttered uncomfortably. It felt odd for her to thank me when I hadn't wanted her around in the first place. All this time and _she_ had been the answer to having Heero back. It made me sick to think of all the times in the past that I could've grabbed her arm and enabled her to talk to me. "Are you back in her power as soon as I let go?"

"Regrettably. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to not have a voice in the back of my head telling me what to do all the time."

"Can't we do anything for you?" Quatre asked. There was pity in his voice and face.

"I don't think so. You can't come with me," Relena said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'll tell her that I went into the city for a while. She'll believe that. But I'm pretty sure she knows about the four of you and what you can do. If she knew that I'd been here she would realize immediately what we'd been doing and she might move Heero and not tell me where. It took everything I had to weasel the location out of her last time."

I didn't know what made me do it, but I reached up and touched my throat until I found the edge of the necklace I always wore. I pulled it off and held it out to her. She stared at my hand and then looked up at my face, asking a silent question. I kept my hand out and finally she took it, draping it around her neck. It was long enough that the cross, Shinigami's scythe, slipped beneath the collar of her shirt. With the cross hidden, it looked like a simple gold chain, the kind any girl would wear. My neck felt empty without it and I felt a pang as soon as Relena took it from me, but it was the only thing I could've given her. I suspected that it had enough of Shinigami's power that it might, if not completely negate, at least dull Une's power a little.

"That's a promise," I said. "Now you _know_ we'll come."

She hugged me. Relena Darlian actually leaned forward and threw her arms around my shoulders. I nearly fell out of my chair; Wufei reached out and gripped my shoulder, keeping me steady. When I glanced at him there was a small smile playing around his lips and his dark eyes were warm. Trowa and Quatre were both grinning. No help there. Awkwardly, I patted Relena on the back, wondering what else I was supposed to do. It had been a long time since I'd hugged a girl and the feel of her - all soft curves - was discomfiting and not at all what I was used to.

Finally she pulled back and her eyes were shiny with tears again but she didn't cry. She bowed to me and said, "Thank you" and then she bowed to the others and said "I'll wait for you" before she jumped up and ran out of the kitchen. We heard the door close a moment later.

Quatre looked at me and smiled. "That was very kind of you, Duo."

"Yeah, well…" I trailed off and shrugged, uncertain of what to say in reply. I didn't like Relena and I figured I probably never would. Being under the influence of a goddess didn't change the fact that she had stalked Heero and tried her best to get in between us. But I did feel sorry for her. All of us knew what it was like to be at the mercy of a higher power that was trying to dictate every little thing you said or did. No one deserved that, least of all Relena, who had never really hurt anything or anyone. Besides that, she had agreed to help us find Heero and there was probably very little I wouldn't have done for her after that.

"Do you think she can be trusted?" Trowa asked, skillfully taking the attention away from me. I shot him a grateful look and he winked at me.

"I could sense her emotions," Quatre stated thoughtfully, playing with his cup. "Well, I say that I could, but in reality they were very conflicted and… the only thing I can think of to describe it is _muted_. Ever since all of this began I've been able to sense the emotions of ordinary humans with very little effort on my part. I had to work to be able to feel Relena's. There was definitely something there shielding her from me, and although I don't think the power was Relena's I'd be hard-pressed to say where it was coming from. Still, it seems to me that there is a level of honesty to what she told us. I think she really does need our help."

Wufei sighed and finally let his hand drop from my shoulder. "Well, Duo already told her that we'd be coming so now we have no choice," he remarked. "We have to go, even if it's only to get your cross back."

"And to get the information about Heero," I reminded him.

"Yes, of course. That too._ If_ Relena really knows where he is."

"Even if she doesn't, we now have a lead that we didn't before," Trowa pointed out. "We know that Une has something to do with Heero's disappearance. At the very least that gives a place to start from, so we're a step closer than we were before."

A step didn't seem like much but I knew that it was all we were going to get. It was just hard to sit there knowing that we were a little bit closer to finding Heero, and yet we'd have to wait at least another day to start doing anything about it. I stared into the remains of my soup and touched my naked collarbone, wondering where he was, if he missed us, if he would ever be home with us again. And in spite of Quatre's faith in Relena, in spite of the fact that I'd given her my cross, I had to wonder if Relena Darlian could really be trusted, or if she was leading us into a well constructed trap.

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Please review!


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! Still with Duo, I'm afraid. Enjoy!

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The address that Trowa had found for Relena was a large mansion that had been a hotel during the days of the war. It was reportedly heavily guarded, with men and dogs roaming the grounds at regular intervals, but nothing that the four of us couldn't handle. Wufei and I decided to be the ones who would go in and retrieve Relena, while Quatre and Trowa would keep watch outside. If we needed their help, we would be close enough for Quatre to be able to sense that something was wrong. Trowa had Kin with him on a leash, so none of the guards would give a second glance to two boys out walking their dog on a warm afternoon.

Having gotten details of the grounds ahead of time, we knew it would be easiest to scale the wall along the back, where the trees were the thickest and would offer the most cover. Unsurprisingly, the guards tended to hang around there as well, but we were confident we'd be able to get past them. Wufei went first, using the vines that had grown up around the wall in order to hoist himself up while I waited below. He swung himself over the top and I heard the light thud that indicated he'd hit ground on the other side. A moment later, he gave two short raps of his knuckles against the bricks as an indication to me that it was safe to follow.

My reach wasn't as far as his but I was lighter, and I was up and over the wall in seconds. Wufei had landed in a little bush and I came down in the same spot. It made for an easy landing, at least. He hauled me to my feet and put a finger over his lips. I nodded as he turned and crept silently through the jungle: the goal was to get as close as possible before we had to make a run for it. We'd have about a hundred feet to go where there wouldn't be any cover at all. Our timing would have to be perfect.

Wufei was supposed to go first, but at the last second, when I saw his body tensing in preparation, I flung myself ahead of him, sprinting across the grass towards the little shadowed alcove we were aiming for. I knew Wufei would be furious with me later, but I figured that if anyone should be risking their neck for this it should be me. I was the one who had given Relena my cross and promised her that we would come. I was expecting to feel the kiss of a bullet at any moment, but I reached the alcove and concealed myself just like we'd planned. Exactly one minute later, a guard strolled past. I tried to pant quietly and pressed back further, watching the spot where I knew Wufei was.

There was a long moment of nothing, and then he burst out of the foliage and dashed across the expanse of empty space. In what seemed to be mere seconds he was pressing himself against me just as another guard turned the corner. I relaxed only when the guard had passed us by. I knew that this wasn't over, not by a long shot, but it felt like a win just to have gotten this far. My elation was soured, however, by Wufei's obvious annoyance. He gave me a hard pinch on the arm and a look that said we'd be having words later. I just smiled at him and reached up over our heads to open up the little entrance to an air vent Quatre had noticed. It was small, probably not considered to be a threat because of its size, and just large enough for two teenaged boys who were smaller than they should've been.

"You first," Wufei said, a glitter in his eyes. He cupped his hands and I lifted my foot, placing them on his palms. He bent his knees and then lifted, pushing me up high. I balanced myself against the building and stretched up until my hands were inside the vent. My nails scrabbled for a hold and I was pretty sure I accidentally kicked Wufei in the face as I struggled to pull myself up. The inside was smooth and it took some doing, but finally I was in. It was a tight fit but I pulled myself along until I came to the floor grate that led to an empty office. I pushed the grate down and swung myself out, landing easily on the desk. Honestly, for a place that was supposed to have high security, this wasn't all that difficult. Wufei was waiting for me by the window and it was a simple matter to pop the lock and let him in.

"Alright, which way is Relena's room?" he asked, closing the window behind him. Neither of us wanted to risk having someone notice it had been opened. It would be easier to find an alternate way out once we had Relena.

"Up the first set of stairs, two halls over," I replied. I was more than willing to follow him this time around. The "hard" part had been getting inside, but the inside halls were virtually deserted, with very few guards walking around. Apparently Une was secure in her belief that no one would ever want to break in here. She'd put most of her security measures on the outside for show. Either that or she was more interested in trying to keep Relena in, because in no time at all we were standing outside of Relena's bedroom. There wasn't a soul around and I walked right over and rapped on her door.

"Come in," Relena called. She sounded strange. I pushed the door open and walked inside. She was standing by the window, staring out at the grounds, but she turned around. When she saw it was me, her eyes got really wide and she just stared.

"Hey," I said casually, like we were meeting up outside on the street. "Are you ready to go?"

"Oh my god, you actually came!"

This marked the second time in less than a week that Relena Darlian had hugged me. It was no less awkward the second time around. Fortunately this time Wufei responded to my alarmed look and flailing hands and gently but firmly peeled Relena off of me, pushing her back a few steps and inserting himself between us. "I know you're pleased to see us but we really don't have time for this," he said firmly. "We've got to get out of here before our presence is noticed."

"Right, sorry, I didn't mean to... I just didn't think... Yes, sorry." Relena took a deep breath and smiled, looking more relaxed than she had in weeks. It was like all of the stress had fallen away from her all at once. "Une left on her trip late last night. I told her that I'd been shopping and she didn't suspect a thing."

"Good. Let's go," he said, not interested in listening to anything she had to say while we were still inside the house.

Relena grabbed a small backpack that had been waiting on one of the chairs. She slung it over her back and I suddenly noticed what she was wearing: jeans, comfortable sneakers, a sweatshirt that was too large, and her hair braided neatly down her back, where it wouldn't get in the way. I realized that she had been waiting for us, probably had been since early that morning. At least she was sensible enough to dress in clothing that wouldn't draw too much attention. I took my hat off and threw it at her and she put it on her head without saying a word, tugging the brim down low to shield her face.

"We're going out the side entrance," I said. "Don't talk to anyone and try not to attract attention. Do whatever we tell you to, no arguments. Got it?"

"Yes," Relena said.

Wufei opened the door and looked outside. The coast was still clear. He went first, followed by Relena, and then me. We didn't encounter anyone until we got back down to the first floor. There was a small cluster of servants standing in the entryway, having a chat. Relena went all stiff when she saw them and I figured they were probably spies of Une's, likely dangerous to our mission if they caught on to who we were or what we were doing. Avoidance was the best measure, then, and Wufei must have come to the same conclusion because he did an abrupt turn and went down another hallway, heading for one of the windows.

All of a sudden, we heard frantic barking outside. Wufei stopped instantly and he looked over his shoulder at me. I knew we were both thinking the same thing. Quatre and Trowa. Were the dogs under Trowa's influence? In my pocket, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and checked the screen. It was a message from Quatre telling us to get out immediately. I glanced up at Wufei and he nodded, spinning to face the nearest window.

"You first," he said, grabbing the lock. It was easy to unlatch and push the frame up; the locks might've been hard to pick but they were simple to work. He gestured to Relena. To her credit, she didn't hesitate. She hopped up onto the sill and he grabbed her hands and swung her down. I followed, falling the short distance to the ground, and only stumbled a bit. My ankle throbbed but I ignored it as Wufei jumped down beside me.

The barking was growing increasingly louder and Relena was starting to look nervous. I took her by the wrist and yanked her along, running towards the wall where Wufei and I had come in. Wufei trailed us. We'd only gone about twenty feet when I heard a familiar sound, a gunshot, and Wufei swore. Relena tried to stop and I tightened my grip, forcing her to keep moving. I could hear Wufei's footsteps keeping pace with us which meant he wasn't seriously wounded; it could wait until we weren't being pursued by men with dangerous weapons.

"Keep going!" I said breathlessly, dragging her closer. "Scale the wall, Relena, hurry!"

"But Maxwell - " She cut herself off when she saw the look on my face and instead swallowed hard, nodding. She put one hand on my shoulder and the other on my cupped palms and I boosted her, watching her reach for a grip on the wall. She was a little shorter than I was and it was difficult for her. We were losing time we didn't have; I could hear snarling coming from behind me and then Wufei's back pressed against mine.

"Dogs," he uttered under his breath, reaching for his gun.

A shadow fell over us and the angry growling suddenly stopped. I looked up. Trowa was straddling the wall, his eyes fixed on a spot somewhere behind us. Even from where I was standing I could see that his eyes had turned a very light, iridescent green that seemed to glow in the sunlight. I knew he was communicating, talking to the dogs, injecting the idea into their minds that they didn't want to attack us after all. Relena made a whimpering sound low in her throat and I suddenly remembered where we were. The immense strain on my body helped to clue me in. I managed to push her up the last few inches and she got her hand into a little notch. Once I was sure that she wasn't going to fall, I scrambled up beside her. Wufei followed until all four of us were straddling the top of the wall.

From there I could easily see what we'd been missing. There were several dogs surrounding the spot where we'd just been, and if it hadn't been for Trowa I knew we'd have been torn limb from limb, because there was no way Wufei or I could have shot that many dogs in the precious few seconds we'd have had. But now the dogs weren't facing us. They were facing the guards, teeth bared in warning. The guards were just standing there with expressions of total befuddlement, and although their guns were out, no one was making any effort to shoot. It was oddly satisfying to have their weapons turned back on them. If I hadn't thought they'd shoot me for it, I might've been tempted to wave.

"Duo," Wufei said warningly. There was a little catch in his voice, though, and I knew he was trying his hardest not to laugh. I grinned at him and winked, knowing he'd find it amusing, before I looked over at Relena. She was staring at the two of us like we were insane. I just beamed at her in reply before I swung my leg over the side and let myself drop to the ground. Quatre was standing there waiting for us, holding Kin's leash.

"You're alright?" he asked anxiously, even though he had probably been tracking our every move.

"We're fine, and we got the target," I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder as Wufei, Relena and finally Trowa hit the ground behind us.

"Good." Quatre looked relieved. "Come on, let's go."

He led us down the street at a run. There was no point in trying to blend in since the guards had gotten a good look at us. Fortunately, we had planned for this contingency and there was a car already running, waiting for us at a curb one block over. Quatre unlocked the doors and slid smoothly into the driver's seat. Trowa got in next to him with Kin at his feet and Wufei, Relena and I got into the back. Relena ended up in the middle. I noticed that she was clenching her fingers together nervously. A compulsion slipped over me to reach out and take her hand, but I squashed it ruthlessly. I was not here to make friends with Relena Darlian. Instead, I just looked at her.

"Directions," I said simply.

Relena closed her eyes and held her breath for a moment, like she was trying to picture something in her head. Then she said, "Go down this street and make a left turn. Continue on for at least fifteen minutes. You'll come to Dover Road. Make a right turn onto it and get onto the highway. When we get there I think I'll be able to tell you more, once I see the landmarks and can picture where we are."

Quatre put the car into drive and slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The car lurched forward and we were off. I stared out the window, my heart beating fast as Quatre followed her directions to the letter. In a few minutes we were out of the city and on the highway. Relena seemed confident that we were going in the right direction but I wondered, especially when she told him to take one of the ramps that led into a small town with a population of about ten thousand people. It wasn't where I would have chosen to hide someone.

I should've paid more attention to my initial doubt. I wasn't thinking. I was too worried about Heero, letting him cloud my mind so that I wasn't as careful as normal. Stupid.

Relena said, "Stop the car."

"What? We're here?" In spite of his doubt, Quatre obligingly pulled over. We were on Main Street. It was the middle of the day.

"Yes," she said, and her voice sounded strange again.

I turned to look at her and saw that she was holding her backpack open so that I could see what was in it.

It was a bomb.

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Please review!


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N:** A few people thought that I was bored with this story and looking for a fast ending. Sorry, but no, that's quite incorrect I'm afraid. Enjoy!

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"Fuck!" The word leapt from my mouth. My hand flew to the door handle and I pushed at it uselessly. It didn't open. Too late I realized that the stupid car had child safety locks that activated automatically when the car was in drive. If Relena chose to detonate that bomb, we would be trapped here. I had a moment to think about what that would feel like before she spoke.

"Did I frighten you? I'm sorry. I didn't bring it along to threaten you," Relena said. She turned her head and looked at Wufei, who was leaning as far back from her as he could get, and then to Trowa and Quatre in the front. "It's not active and I wasn't lying to you. This really is the path to where Heero is being kept, but there's also a lake through those trees over there. It's about a ten minute walk; I've seen it before the last time I was taken through here. I wanted to throw this inside of it. I found it in Une's office last night. I'm worried about what she might do with it."

"Quatre, unlock the doors," Wufei said very calmly. Too calmly. Quatre shifted the car into park. Wufei reached out and took the backpack carefully off of Relena's knees. I shuddered to think of how rough she had been with it while we were at the mansion. It could have gone off at any time and we wouldn't have been any the wiser. He pushed the door open and got out swiftly. Quatre jumped out to join him and the two of them took off through the trees in the direction that Relena had indicated.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I demanded, staring at her. For a moment there, I'd thought… well. It had definitely crossed my mind that Relena had fooled us all, and if I'd been holding a gun at the time I wouldn't have hesitated to put a bullet between her eyes, regardless of Heero. My heart was still pounding.

"I'm sorry," Relena repeated, brushing back a stray curl. There was a glitter in her eyes that told me she might not be as sorry as she was professing to be. If I hadn't known better, I would have said she was a little amused by our reactions. "I told you, I found it in Une's desk. She's supposed to be the goddess of peace but it worries me, the way she goes about getting what she wants. She'll do anything and it doesn't matter who gets in her way. All I could think about was getting it away from her before she had the chance to set it off and do damage. That could've destroyed a city."

"Did you think," Trowa said in a low, controlled tone, "that just throwing it into a lake without checking to see if it was active could have consequences?"

She shrugged, squirming a little. "I didn't know what else to do. That's why I thought I'd better show it to you first."

Trowa and I exchanged a long look of disbelief. Sometimes I couldn't believe how foolish Relena could be, if she really didn't know how dangerous her actions had been. It was good that she'd gotten the weapon away from Une, but she could have easily killed us and then fuck knows what would've happened to rest of the world. For all of her experience, for all of the things she had said and done during the war, she just didn't think about the consequences of what she was doing. I thought about saying as much to her, but I was still so angry I didn't even know if it would come out right. I settled for shaking my head in disbelief and pointedly turning away to watch for Wufei and Quatre.

They came back about fifteen minutes later, thankfully without the bomb in hand. Wufei was furious. He stormed over to the car and jerked the car open, reaching in to grab Relena's arm. "Onna," he hissed, "do you realize what you could've done? That bomb was real. It could have gone off if you'd dropped it or jostled it around too much." His hand tightened around her arm and I saw Relena wince. "Don't you ever be so foolish as to mess around with things you don't understand, got it?"

"Yes," Relena said quickly. "Yes, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to get it away from Une."

He just stared at her coldly before turning away and walking back over to Quatre. Relena wrapped her arms around her waist. I got out of the car and went over to the three of them. Wufei was still burning and even Quatre looked upset. I knew they were both thinking about how close we had come to dying without even knowing it and I didn't blame them, but now that the initial panic and adrenaline had passed through me I just wanted to keep going. Heero was the important thing here, not Relena.

Quatre was looking at me with narrowed eyes. "I've never known you to be so forgiving," he said in a questioning tone.

I laughed. "God you're getting good at that," I said. It was almost eerie, how he could understand what someone was thinking just from being able to feel their emotions. "Yes, you're right. She's stupid, what can I say?" I shrugged, not bothering to mention that she was possibly malicious as well. "We're not dead and we still need her help to get to Heero."

"You're right, of course," Quatre sighed. "Just - could someone examine her backpack and make sure she hasn't got any other weapons that we don't know about?"

Trowa picked up the backpack. Wufei had thrown it on the ground when he came out of the forest. He searched through it quickly. "Nothing else that's dangerous," he said at last. He looked tired. "Let's just get back in the car and go. I don't think she's got any other surprises waiting for us."

"Not here, anyway," Wufei muttered. I knew his trust in Relena, small as it had been, was now non-existent. I couldn't blame him for that. It had occurred to me too that we might be walking into some kind of trap. But there was no choice. I was going through with this no matter what the cost; if I was going to die I wanted it to be with Heero.

"Relena," I said, turning around. She was standing beside the car, her hands loosely wrapped across her stomach. For a split second she looked so young and vulnerable that I actually paused, but I pushed on. "We're going to get back into the car. You're going to give us the directions to find Heero. And then you're going to fuck off and never contact or bother any of us again."

My voice must have come out harsher than I'd intended because Relena flinched, but she nodded. I walked back over to the car and waited for her to get in. This time Trowa got into the back with us while Wufei sat up front with Quatre. Relena's voice was subdued when she began issuing directions. I took a quick look at her and noticed that she was still wearing my cross around her neck. The chain was just visible above the collar of her sweatshirt. That, at least, was a good thing. I knew she wasn't operating under Une's control.

Her directions led us to a summer house on the edge of the lake. It was just one more cabin in a long line of them had bordered the waterfront. It looked so ordinary that at first I doubted Relena had led us to the right place, though I wasn't sure she'd be stupid enough to try and cross us a second time around. "This is it?" I said, just to be sure. It made sense - no one would ever suspect anything - but at the same time it didn't seem... enough. I was going to be pissed if Heero really had been here all this time, just waiting for someone to walk in and break him out.

"Yes, this is it," Relena confirmed, leaning forward a little to get a better look. "This cabin... it belonged to Treize Khushrenada." She spoke the name hesitantly. "Milliardo said that when he died he left almost everything he had to Une. Apparently they used to come here sometimes in the summer. It's somewhere that Une feels safe, so she wouldn't hesitate to hide Heero here. No one else knows about it, I don't think."

"Does she keep guards here?" I asked briskly, my hand already opening the door. I got out and Relena jumped out behind me.

"I don't know. I've only been here a few times, when I insisted that she bring me to see Heero. Most of the time I was far enough under her spell that I wasn't paying attention." Relena's fingers brushed against the necklace she was still wearing. In a move that surprised me, she started to take it off. I flung out a hand instinctively and stopped her.

"What are you doing?" I demanded. "That's keeping you from becoming Une's puppet."

"This is your weapon, isn't it?" Relena said. "I can tell, I can feel the power coming off of it. You're going to need it, Maxwell. I have no idea what she has down there. Get out of the car and then lock me in. Better yet, knock me unconscious." Her eyes wandered to each of us and her jaw tightened at whatever she was seeing in our faces. "I want you to. You said it yourself, I'm not of any use to you." Her smile was brittle at the edges. In one smooth move, she pulled the necklace off and grabbed my wrist, forcing it into my hand. I knew that as long as we were touching Une's power would be held at bay, but as soon as one of us let go Relena would be even more of a danger to all of us.

"I'm sorry about this," I told her. It was the truth. She just nodded and kept her eyes on me while Wufei moved up behind her. Quick as lightening, his hand flashed out and he curved his fingers over her collarbone, searching for the right combination of pressure points that would ensure she couldn't be used against us. A moment later, Relena's eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed. Wufei caught her and lowered her to the ground.

"We'll lock her in the car. She'll be safe that way," Quatre said. Trowa and Wufei picked her up and placed her across the backseat. Quatre locked the doors. I put my chain around my neck. The cross felt warm against my chest and I felt a low thrum of power running through me as Shinigami stirred with interest. He wasn't happy that Heero had been taken; he missed his partner and he had been equally determined to see Heero returned to us all. I squared my shoulders and walked unflinchingly towards the cabin, bolstered by his renewed presence.

"Duo!" Quatre shouted behind me. I knew I was doing something stupid and possibly dangerous by going in alone, but I didn't care. I walked right up onto the front step and took hold of the doorknob. It twisted easily under my hand and I pushed the door open, stepping into what appeared to be a kitchen. Everything was coated with a thick layer of dust and the smell of musk was heavy in the air. I didn't see anything out of place but the hair on the back of my neck rose with the feeling that something wasn't quite right. I was on high alert as I took another step into the room.

Behind me, Quatre pushed his way in. He was panting and glaring at me. I ignored him and pulled my gun out of its holster. I wanted to draw upon my scythe but that would set Shinigami free and some instinct told me not to do that yet. I gestured to Quatre and moved ahead into the next room, which had only an old fireplace and a couch and a set of stairs that led to another level. Quatre walked over and knelt in front of the fireplace, looking at the remains of what had been burned. A frown crossed his face and he looked up at me with a bleak expression. Whatever he had found didn't sit well with him, but I didn't stop to ask. I went over to the stairs and jogged up them, highly aware of every creak beneath my feet.

I wanted to call out to Heero but I didn't dare. There didn't seem to be anyone else in the cabin but that didn't mean we were alone. The air had an unnatural stillness that was troubling me. Besides, as it turned out, I didn't have to. The upstairs was pitifully small, containing only two bedrooms and a bathroom, and I found Heero in the second bedroom. It was tiny, with just enough space for a single bed, and even with only that for furniture it only left the room with enough space for the door to open. There wasn't even a closet. I stepped inside and stared down at him, my heart in my throat. He was lying on old, grimy gray sheets, eyes shut, looking oddly peaceful considering everything that we'd been through. He looked good, though he had – unsurprisingly – lost a lot of his tan, leaving his skin with an oddly pale, almost waxy appearance. It was immensely reassuring to see the way his chest rose and fell with every breath.

"Heero," I whispered, and my knees buckled. I staggered forward and fell against the bed, sitting down hard. After all this time, here he was, just inches away from me. I wanted to dance around the room, I wanted to laugh, I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw myself down on top of him and never let go. All of this flooded through me in a heady rush, leaving me breathless, and in the end all I could do was reach out a shaking hand to touch his cheek.

His skin was cool beneath my fingers, and I double-checked to be sure that he really was breathing. It was like touching my hand to a cold radiator; the deep chill was enough to make me shiver. I wondered what Une had done to him and how she had kept the god of War at bay. I brushed a strand of hair off of his forehead and leaned forward, pressing my cheek against his. Shinigami was railing inside of me, furious at seeing our lover in this state, and I was having a hard time keeping him from coming out. I needed this moment with Heero, to know that he was still here, unharmed, before we sought revenge.

The door creaked behind me and Quatre sighed with relief. "Thank god," he murmured, a single step bringing him close enough to touch me. He was so warm that I couldn't help leaning into him a little, though I didn't take my hand away from Heero. I never wanted to lose contact with him again.

"Where are Trowa and Wufei?" I asked. My voice broke midway through my question and I flushed, glad that he couldn't see my face. Though considering that he could likely feel everything I was feeling, that was pointless. His hand came down and landed on my head, and then he stroked my hair gently, just once. It helped. I felt the tension slowly draining from my body and I was able to sit up and twist to look around at him. He was staring down at Heero.

"They're downstairs," Quatre said without look at me. "Making sure that no one sneaks up on us. I don't think they expected that Heero would actually be here."

That wasn't surprising; after everything Relena had put us through I hadn't really been expecting it, either. I turned back to look at Heero again. I had the feeling that shaking him wasn't going to be enough to wake him up. "What did she do to him?"

"I don't know, Duo," he replied softly. "But we're going to find out and then we're going to make sure that Une knows she can't just do whatever she pleases. It will be alright, I promise." He squeezed my shoulder and then moved away. I heard him calling down the stairs for Wufei and Trowa and I knew that he'd already figured out that the two of us might not be strong enough to move Heero's dead weight by ourselves. In a matter of seconds the three of them would be in the room with me and I didn't know when I'd be alone with Heero again.

I took my chance. Quickly I leaned down and kissed him, moving my lips briefly across his unresponsive mouth. It was nothing at all like the passionate, loving kisses I was used to but it was enough. "I promise you, Heero," I whispered to him. I took his hand and intertwined our fingers, pressing the back of his hand against my cheek. "We'll fix this. I swear."

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Please review!


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N:** Once again we're back with Duo. Enjoy!

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It should've been easy. It _was_ easy, in retrospect. We'd made a lot of stupid decisions during the war, but I had thought that at some point we would grow out of that. Wisdom of the ages and all that shit. Maybe someday we would, provided we lived long enough for that to happen. But I didn't really see it happening any time soon. Not considering what was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs when we finally managed to carry Heero down. Trowa and Wufei were having a hard time managing him without tripping and Quatre had gone on ahead to make sure that the path stayed as clear as possible, moving chairs and anything else out of the way. I stayed behind them and that was stupid on my part; I should've been with Quatre.

The end result was that Trowa stepped out first, backwards, and Wufei came out facing forward. He saw what was going on and his jaw tightened, eyes flashing with rage. Trowa caught on to the fact that something was wrong and twisted around just as I stepped out the door behind them. We all saw it at the same time. Une was standing in the middle of the yard with her arm wrapped around Quatre's throat. There was a crazed gleam in her eyes and a gun in her hand, which was pressed solidly against Quat's temple. He had gone stiff against her and his eyes were wide, but I could see that it was still Quatre in control and not the god, not yet. There were more men lining the edge of the yard and every single one of them was armed.

Bizarrely, my first thought was for Relena. She was the mortal in this, after all, and she would have no protection at all if something went wrong. My eyes swung in the direction of the car but I couldn't see it. Une must have seen me looking because she said, "Don't worry, Maxwell. I wouldn't harm my emissary. I need her to be in top condition, you know. You only get one if you chose to seek them out."

It hadn't escaped my notice that she hadn't said anything about not hurting the rest of us. I closed the door behind me and shifted, widening my stance in case we were attacked. "What do you want, Une?" I asked, deliberately not looking at Quatre.

"I'm the goddess of peace, Maxwell. I would think what I want should be obvious even to you."

"But you have peace!" I said. "The Preventers make sure of that. There's no need of this. Let Relena and Quat go and we'll just walk away. You won't hear from any of us again." I was pretty sure that was a promise we, even Quatre, would be able to keep if need be.

"For now, but it's in the nature of the god of war to create war," Une said triumphantly, gesturing to Heero. "And wherever a god goes chaos is sure to follow. Just by being here the five of you are throwing Earth into a disruption. It's your fault. The war never would have dragged on for so long if it weren't for your presence! Oz would have won and Treize-sama would have ruled the way he was meant to if you had kept yourselves out of the way like you were supposed to."

"Hey, we didn't ask to be here!" I retorted. Her wild accusations were making me angry. "We were sent down here to monitor the war. Bring it up with the people upstairs if you don't like how things turned out, but don't blame it on us. You got your peace so it's time to just let it go."

Une just shook her head with a low laugh that sent chills down my spine. She seemed to enjoy stroking Quatre's cheek with the barrel of the gun. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Trowa tensing with every movement and I prayed silently that he would hold off for the time being. I didn't know what it would be like when gods fought, but I didn't think it would go over well. I looked back at Une and tried to think. Relena was right; she was clearly unhinged. Treize's death had pushed her over the edge. As long as she was here on Earth she was going to cause problems and not just for us. I dreaded to think of what she might do in Treize's honour.

"You're a god too," Wufei said suddenly. He knelt, lowering Heero's body to the ground before he stood up again. "Aren't you including yourself in that? You will cause problems here on Earth as well."

"Yes but I can _fix_ them," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Or did you miss the part where I'm the goddess of _peace_? I'm much more suited for a life on Earth than death or war or the rest of you." She eyed Wufei and Trowa and squeezed Quatre's throat a little tighter. "You throw the balance out of control. That's why I have to get rid of you. I thought that it would be enough to take the god of war out of the equation, but sadly you've proven that you don't know when to back off." Her smile was distinctly unpleasant. "Shame."

"So what are you planning to do?" I asked warily. I couldn't imagine that this would end well. I scanned the perimeter again, counting how many men she'd brought with her. There were so many of them! At least three dozen and I suspected that more were hiding among the trees just in case something went wrong. Une wasn't Oz; she wasn't going to underestimate us. She knew what we could do, possibly better than we did.

"You're going to come with me," Une replied simply. "You can do it by choice or we can do it the hard way, it's really up to you. I couldn't care less. But I'll warn you that I am entirely prepared to shoot your little friend here and now. It'll get one god off of the planet and that's all I really care about."

We went with her. It galled me to give in so easily but what choice did we have when she was using Quatre to make sure that we would? I tensed when a couple of men approached us and grabbed Heero, but they didn't seem to be planning to hurt him, just carried him down the path past Une. Trowa went first, followed by Wufei, and then me. Une came behind us, never letting up on her grip on Quat for even a minute, so tight that his lips had a tinge of blue. I wondered what she was planning to do with us. Obviously she'd known to use Heero to coax us out here. It made me wonder if Relena could be trusted after all or if she had been an unknowing part of Une's scheme. There was no way of knowing for sure but I knew I'd think twice about trusting her in the future, especially when Une stopped us before we'd gotten very far.

"Oh yes, one last thing," she said pleasantly, nodding to one of the men. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. I couldn't see what it was but there was no way to miss the effects.

The explosion rocked all of us, tearing the cabin apart and forcibly shaking the ground and changing the air pressure in a sweeping wave that made my eardrums throb. I staggered and went down hard on one knee, throwing my hands out in a futile effort to stop my descent. The gravel and stones that I landed on cut deeply into my palms and I winced as I looked up. I immediately noticed that I wasn't the only one who'd been unbalanced. Wufei was on the ground and so were some of the men who had been surrounding us, including the ones who'd been carrying Heero. I didn't hesitate. Though I wanted to make sure that Heero and Wufei were okay, I leapt to my feet and ran for it, using every last trick I had ever learned as a street rat to disappear into the words. I heard shouts behind me and then someone shot at me. The bullet grazed my arm but that was it and they didn't shoot again, idiotic on their part. Footsteps pounded after me and I knew the time had come.

I grabbed my cross and pulled it away from my neck. It tingled between my hands and I felt the odd disorienting shift that meant Shinigami was taking over. By the time Une's men caught up they were no longer facing a mere boy soldier. The god of death was waiting for them. I could feel and watch as my body moved but I had no control. The men had no idea. One of them, the leader, squared his shoulders and lifted his rifle, aiming it towards my chest.

"That's enough now," he said coldly, cocking it back. "You're going to come back with us or we'll kill you where you stand. Une don't care and it will be one less of you that we have to worry about."

"Maybe we should just go ahead and do it," said another. "Like you said, the boss won't care and it's less work for us in the end." He smirked and I could see the relish he felt when he thought about causing the pain, suffering and death of someone else. It was sickening.

"I'm not sure that plan is going to work out for you," Shinigami said. He was smiling and there was a rush of adrenaline flooding through my - our - veins. I knew in a flash that was he was enjoying this, the opportunity to get back at these idiots for what they had done. He moved and I saw the moment when the men realized that he was holding onto a scythe, which had been hidden by the way he was standing. I knew I'd never forget the look of shock on their faces as it dawned that they were already dealing with a god who was very pissed off and very capable of killing them without too much effort.

The smart ones tried to run. Shinigami didn't let any of them escape. He leapt forward, his scythe a gleaming blade slashing through the air, and sliced two of them cleanly in half. There was a damp squishing noise as their body parts landed on the ground. One of them brought his gun up and tried to shoot. Shinigami dodged the bullets and ran a hand down the length of the man's arm. He died without ever realizing what was going on. My hand - his hand - our hand wielded the weapon with expert precision and I could honestly say that most of those men died before they even knew that he was behind them. It was good to see their bodies and know that they wouldn't be able to go to Une's aid. We were pleased as we watched their souls escape their bodies and fly up towards the late evening sun.

In the wake of it all, Shinigami stood up and turned towards the forest. I didn't ask for control and he didn't try to give it back. For one brief moment we had been one and I didn't know what to do about that, not yet. He said, "You can come out now."

Bushes rustled. Trowa walked out. If he was surprised to see that Shinigami was in control, he didn't show it. "I thought you'd gotten away," he said calmly. There was no sign of the rage that had been so blinding earlier and I wondered what Quat was. "I saw you running into the woods."

"Those idiots were too foolish," Shinigami replied. He was oddly relaxed in the presence of another person, to the point where he had allowed his scythe to dangle down by his side, and that, more than anything, told me how much he trusted Trowa - or rather, the god that existed within Trowa. "They were nothing to take down. Where are the others?"

"Heero was still out and I think Wufei was knocked unconscious by the blast," he said. His jaw tightened. "Une was still holding onto Quatre. She was expecting the explosion so it didn't throw her off guard. I don't think he dared do anything while Heero and Wufei were in the hands of her men… and I'm not sure if his powers would have worked on her where she was a goddess." He looked at Shinigami questioningly.

"It depends," Shinigami said and he didn't offer anything more than that. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked over to the first man that he - we - had killed. The body had been neatly halved and Shinigami bent over the lower portion. It didn't seem to bother him, seeing or touching a corpse, and he reached into one of the pockets and pulled out a thick sheaf of papers. I realized that they were official documents in a language I couldn't read, which meant Shinigami couldn't understand them either. Apparently it was one of those things where even being a god couldn't trump the limitations of a mortal body. I could feel his resulting frustration over the fact as he sighed angrily.

"Do you know where they're going?" Trowa asked him.

"She will make sure that they are easy to find," he answered. "She is looking to cause a war between the gods on Earth. It makes no sense of her to hide away. I suspect that once she knows where we've gone she'll extend the invitation for us to come looking."

I saw Trowa's mouth open like he was going to say something but his words were lost in a dizzying rush. My legs buckled as Shinigami suddenly retreated and I was left in full control. I hit the ground as Trowa rushed over to me, his steady hands checking to be sure that I hadn't suffered any unknown injuries. I let him do it even though I knew I hadn't. I needed a moment to recollect myself. I could still feel the dark anger of Shinigami, closer to the surface than before. I felt like we were blending, the lines blurring. I didn't know if it should upset me or not.

"Alright?" Trowa said gently, finally gripping my arm and pulling me up.

I nodded, leaning against him. "Fine. I wasn't expecting him to do that."

Trowa nodded. "Come on, let's get out of here," he said. "We can't just stand here until Une finds us. We'll get something to eat and wait for this invitation of hers to come." A grim smile lit his face and I returned it. One way or another, this would all soon end.

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Please review!


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. Still Duo's P.O.V. Enjoy!

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We went back to the city. It took a while since we were travelling on foot and the road was clogged with police cars and, ironically, Preventer agents who were trying to find the source of the explosion. I wondered if any of them knew that their very own lead agent was the one responsible. Probably not. Une was skilled at presenting a good front to the public, that was for certain, and no one would dare to challenge her even if they had realized that something strange was going on. She'd gotten this far without suspicion and I had no reason to believe that would change any time soon. If we wanted her gone, it would have to be through our own actions, not because of something someone else would do.

Trowa found us a motel that wouldn't cost too much on the outskirts of town and we booked one room. I sat down on the hard, squeaky bed and wondered what had happened to Kin. I'd become used to his presence over the past few months and I could have used a doggy kiss right about then. All I could think about was how close we'd been to having Heero back and how we'd let the opportunity slip through our fingers. If Une was serious about being the only goddess on the planet, she could easily kill Wufei, Quatre and Heero and then come after Trowa and me. I clenched my hands into fists at the thought and felt Shinigami stirring again in response to my anger.

"Stop it," Trowa said without turning to look at me. I looked up, startled, and realized that he was watching me in the mirror. His one visible green eye was surprisingly focused considering what had happened. "Don't let Shinigami loose yet, Duo. You've got to save your energy for Une. I don't think I'll be strong enough to take her all by myself."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just... frustrated." I flopped over backwards and stared at the filthy ceiling. "I wish I could have done more." Thinking back I could see at least a dozen different ways that I could've disarmed the situation before it had gotten as bad as it had. And I hadn't done a damn thing, just stood there like an idiot and let Une dictate what was going to happen. Why hadn't I done something? "I hate that the ball is back in her court and we just have to wait."

"Well, maybe we don't," he said thoughtfully, finally twisting around to look at me. There was a familiar smirk playing around his lips and I sat up, suddenly excited.

"You have a plan?" I asked.

"Sort of. Shinigami had a point when he said that there wouldn't be any need for Une to go into hiding. She knows you and I aren't going to walk away without the others. But we don't have to sit here and wait for her to come after us. Why don't we take the fight to her? Throw her off guard a little?"

"How can we? We don't know where she's taken them," I pointed out. "We've got to be smart about this, Trowa. If we're not and she has people guarding Heero, Wufei and Quat she could issue orders to have them killed."

A dark look flashed across Trowa's face, but he kept his composure. "I know. But I think I know where she's going to take them. The Preventers building."

For a moment, I wasn't sure I'd heard right. I looked at him like he was crazy. "The Preventers building? Are you kidding me? She'd have to be insane to take them there. That place is swarming with agents. All it would take is someone walking into her office unannounced and she'd be toast." Une was a lot of things, but she wasn't stupid. I couldn't see why she would allow that level of risk. "She's got to have taken them somewhere else."

"No, hear me out." He sat down on the bed and turned to face me. "Une's whole world was comprised of Treize and now that he's dead all she has is the Preventers. Where else would she have to take them since she blew up the cabin? And besides, if you think about it, taking them there could be a wise strategic move. Une is the Head so she probably has a lot of precautions against someone walking into her office without express permission. Furthermore, the fact that there are tons of agents around is exactly why she'd be smart to do exactly that. No one is going to break into the Preventers Headquarters without getting caught. She probably thinks that it's a safe enough spot to get the jump on us."

Put like that, I had to admit that it made sense. "So what, she'd send us a reason to go there?" I said skeptically.

"Worse." Trowa picked up the remote and turned the television on. I looked at it and saw that he had switched the channel to a news station. There was a reporter on the screen and the scene behind her was of the cabin where we had just been, only the cabin itself was gone. All that remained was a smoking crater in the ground. Preventer agents and firemen were swarming over the remains. He turned the sound up.

" _– coming to you live from the scene of an explosion_," the reporter was saying. "_Earlier today reports of a bomb going off reached the Preventers Headquarters. Agents rushed to the scene and were met by what you see behind me. Firefighters fought to put the resulting blaze out and just barely managed to avoid a forest fire that could have caused thousands of dollars worth of damage._" The camera panned over to show what she was talking about. Much of what remained of the forest was blackened and charred. "_There is no explanation yet as to where the bomb came from or why it was set off here, in the middle of what is normally a very peaceful area, but the agents do have their suspicions. We have Special Agent Samuel Barton here with us to give us a little extra information._"

Now the television showed a man I recognized. He'd been standing with Une while she was talking to us. He said, "_We believe that this explosion might have been an act of terrorism. We can't say how we've come by this information because it might compromise our investigation but we are urging everyone to take caution with what they do over the next few days. Report any suspicious activity and don't take any unnecessary risks. The war has left us with a lot of unstable criminals and until we have the chance to put them where they belong, behind bars, there is a very real danger present._"

Trowa muted the television. The man continued to talk but now we couldn't hear anything. He looked at me. "Do you understand?" he asked." Une is going to try and spin this to make it look like we were responsible. Within a day or two they'll find planted evidence that leads her agents straight to the five of us. People are already distrustful of us and it won't take much to lead them in the right direction. Then she won't have to issue an invitation. She'll have a valid reason to create an arrest warrant. Every Preventer agent will be looking for us and as good as we are I don't think we can avoid them all forever."

I felt a chill go down my spine. If this was all true than Une was a lot smarter than I'd thought. "So what do we do? I doubt anyone would believe us if we tried to protest our innocence." I knew that much, at least. Claim your innocence too early and people would begin to think you were actually guilty. Claim it too late and you'd already be branded in the public eye. I had the feeling that we might already be too late.

"We're going to have dinner," he said. "And then we're going to go to bed."

It was so opposite of what I'd been expecting that for a second I just started. "You want to eat?" I squeaked.

"No, not really, but I think we need to. It's been hours since we last ate, Duo. Not since this morning. I'm not hungry but I am starting to feel a little sluggish and I know you do too. We're going to need to keep our strength up for this." He sent me a crooked smile. "Just think about how much Heero would tease you if you collapsed in the middle of a fight!"

I scowled in response to his teasing but I knew he was right. "Alright. What are you in the mood for?" Normally I would've been starving – I rarely went so long without a meal unless I had to – but at that moment the thought of eating anything made me feel nauseous.

"I'll make a run to the convenience store and see what I can find. It's probably best if we don't go too far tonight. Why don't you take a shower and then I'll take one when I get back?"

I did as he suggested. I turned the water in the shower on as hot it could go and washed every part of my body, including my hair. Some of the water ran red for a while before it turned clear and I knew that Shinigami had gotten the blood of those men all over me. My mind was spinning while my hands were busy. If Trowa was right, and I had no reason to think he wouldn't be, then Une was going to turn public favor against us. People had stayed away because they didn't quite dare to approach us but if this act of terrorism was blamed on us than it would be no holds barred. He was right. We had to take this fight to her before she had the chance to do that. That meant we'd have to infiltrate the Preventers Headquarters.

It was a tall order but I didn't think it was impossible. No building was impenetrable; I had learned that early on. There was always at least one or two ways in, whether they were design flaws or merely overlooked. The key would be in finding them. I got out of the shower and logged onto the hotel's computer. The first thing I did was set up a rudimentary set of walls that would keep anyone from looking too closely at what I was doing. I wished that I had my laptop but it was back at the safe house with the rest of our stuff and neither of us had dared to make the long drive back. It seemed like tempting fate to be out in public for that long. Now I wondered if maybe that had been a mistake.

I called up the blueprints of the Preventers building and started studying it. I barely noticed when Trowa returned with the food. He took one look at what I was doing on the computer and left me to it. I didn't know how long I'd been at it before he came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. The blueprints were all nicely done and most people wouldn't have given them a second look, but I'd learned to spot the gaps where something didn't add up quite right. I had a handful of places that I thought might work as entrances. As far as I could see the problem wasn't going to be getting in but getting to the right spot. Une's office had tighter security than the building itself. Even the ventilation shafts leading to her office were too small for anything but a mouse to get through. We'd be left basically walking right through the door.

"Hey," Trowa said quietly, squeezing my shoulder gently. "You've been at it for hours, Duo. It's three in the morning. You should take a break and eat something."

I hated to turn away from my work but now that he had disturbed me I discovered that my stomach was growling and my eyes were starting to ache from the strain. I rubbed them with my hands while Trowa fetched me a sandwich and a can of cola. I popped the top and downed half of it, the bitter liquid making me feel a little more alert. "Our problem is going to be getting up to Une's office," I said, taking the sandwich from him. I bit into it. "I don't like the thought of going in the door but I'm not sure how else we could do it."

Trowa looked thoughtful. "Maybe we need a distraction. Something that could throw everyone off so that us going in the front door wouldn't be an issue."

It sounded like a good idea but I wasn't sure what could fill the role. "They're Preventer agents," I reminded him. "Presumably they're going to be pretty well trained against almost anything we could throw at them. I mean, look at these shafts. Whoever designed this place knew what they're doing. Even we're too big to fit through them. You'd have to be the size of a mouse."

"A mouse, hmm," Trowa said softly and when I looked around at him he was smiling. "I think that could be arranged."

I stared at him for a long moment before shaking my head and biting back a smile. "Again, Preventer agents. I doubt they're going to be frightened by the sight of a mouse." Or at least I hoped not.

"No, but a mouse could cause some problems if it had the right sort of direction. What if we could cause a power outage of some kind? Coupled with a few fireworks it could create pandemonium. All we'd have to do is be in the right place to take advantage of it." He was grinning. "It wouldn't be that hard. The building would probably be evacuated. Une would stay in her office guarding the others. She probably wouldn't share this with anyone else so we'd be able to face her without fear of anyone else intruding on us."

"I have to admit I like the way you think," I said, pleased by the thought that we'd only have to deal with Une. It had already been proven that humans were completely unequipped to deal with the power of a god. I might have been the god of death but I didn't relish the idea of killing anyone before I absolutely had to. People were here on Earth for a reason. "Can you… err… train a mouse that quickly? We'd have to move fast. From the sound of that newscast it won't be long before Une slaps our name on that explosion."

He rolled his eyes at me. "No training necessary. I can be ready by tomorrow morning."

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Please review!


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N:** We're reaching the end of the story! I hope you enjoy!

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The Preventers Headquarters was right in the middle of the city. To the average person it looked like a non-descript brick building, with little way to tell the difference from the other office buildings that surrounded it. Only the agents that were constantly walking in and out the doors made it stand out. I was standing at the corner about a block away. I was wearing a long coat with a hood that shielded my hair and sunglasses to help hide my face and eyes. I stared at the building and wondered if, in another life, I would have ended up as a Preventer. If Une weren't as insane as she was, the job might even have been fun. It would've given me something to do that would've made use of my talents.

But that was wishful thinking. After this, even if someone replaced Une I doubted that we'd ever be invited to join. I glanced at my watch, noting the time. It was just after 3:00pm. By now Trowa would be stationed on the roof of the building across the street. He'd be just getting ready to take control of the nearest rodent and direct them into the ventilation shafts. I would wait until the signal before I made my move. In the meantime, I was supposed to be acting like a regular person, which meant not standing here and staring. I forced myself to turn away and went into the nearest café, ordering a drink that I had no plans to taste. I ended up getting a seat outside where I had a good view of both the building and the place where I knew Trowa would be.

It took a while. We'd been cautious, not wanting anyone to have any idea of what we were up to. I hadn't wanted to bother going to sleep last night but once I hit the bed I was out like a light. I didn't remember anything until I woke up because the sun was shining in my eyes. Trowa was still passed out next to me and I felt bad waking him up but it had to be done. We looked at the blueprints to the Preventers building again and decided where we would be able to hide when the pandemonium started. Then I'd gone shopping for the supplies we'd need to create the distraction. They were nothing to put together, and then while Trowa got into position I dropped the little homemade bombs off at pre-determined locations around the general vicinity of the building, all within a two mile radius. I had the remote that would set them off hidden in my pocket. If they wanted terrorism, that's what they were going to get, even if we'd made sure that the bombs weren't strong enough to hurt anyone.

I waited there for about twenty minutes, taking occasional sips of my drink, the taste of coffee bitter at the back of my throat. I fingered my chain and tried to pretend that I wasn't on pins and needles waiting for this to go down. Finally, at last, I felt the subtle movement of my phone in my pocket as it vibrated. I took it out and glanced at the message. One letter, a T, that wouldn't have meant much to anyone else but told me all I needed to know. I stood up, taking my drink with me, and started ambling down the street in the direction of the Preventers building. It was important that no one pay attention to me, and sure enough everyone was walking by like I didn't even exist.

I walked right in the front doors. Trowa had wanted me to wait outside and then slip in when the bombs were going off, but I desperately wanted to be able to pull one over on Une, to know that she hadn't stopped me from coming into her territory and in the end it was her fault. I didn't know if Une would've alerted the door guards but I was taking the chance she hadn't. I took my glasses off and acted like I belonged and none of the agents gave me a second glance. Even the ones manning the metal detectors calmly waved me through. The remote, of course, was made of plastic. I held it loosely in the palm of my hand and waited for the right moment.

Without warning, the power went out, plunging the building into darkness. I heard alarmed cries coming from all around me. The sound of them easily covered up the soft _click_ as I pushed my thumb down on the button. There was a moment's pause, a split second where everything was dark and loud, and then the sound of small explosions came in the distance. Immediately I moved towards the nearest hallway, sliding past the agents running in the opposite direction. I vaulted over the next security checkpoint and was already sauntering down the hallway by the time their emergency generator kicked in.

"Attention all agents and visitors, we are requesting a temporary evacuation of the building. Please direct yourselves to the nearest exit in a calm and orderly manner. All agents please report to your team leader." An automated alarm began to ring as the announcement finished. Perfect. The shrill ringing hurt my ears as I pulled open the door to a supply closet and slipped inside, but it was bliss to hear. I hoped that Quatre, Heero and Wufei would know that it meant we were coming.

It took another fifteen minutes for the building to go quiet. I knew the bomb squad would be back; it wouldn't be the first time someone had targeted this place and the fact that the bombs had been set up in a large circle wouldn't go unnoticed. To give us a little extra time, I pushed the button again and heard a second round of bombs go off. I had to admit it gave me a little bit of a thrill. Much as I hated being a soldier all the time, there was really nothing else like it.

I pushed the door of the closet open. It was still pretty dark, the halls lit only by pale red emergency lights that had been placed high up on the walls. My eyes adjusted slowly. I took off my coat, balling it up and putting it back on the shelf, and then I piled several bottles of cleaning fluid in front of it. By the time anyone discovered it they wouldn't think to link it to what had happened today. Then I stepped out, gently closing the door behind me. Une's office was on the top floor, of course, and that meant I had almost thirty sets of stairs to climb. My legs were aching already but I grimly went to the staircase and started to climb.

About ten floors up I encountered a couple of agents on their way down, stragglers ignoring the alarm, maybe, or the ones who'd stuck behind to investigate. I tucked myself into the corner and they went right by me. It turned out to be a stroke of luck because I was pressed so tightly to the wall that I felt my phone vibrating. I took it out once they were gone and checked for a message. Trowa of course, letting me know that he was in and on his way up. We had made plans to meet up on the twenty-ninth floor. I knew he'd be coming from a different direction so I kept going, forcing my tired legs to carry me even though I wanted to sit down and rest.

I wasn't expecting the gunshot. I probably should've been paying more attention but I was feeling pretty good, even confident about our plan, and it took me by surprise. I let out a pained yelp at the feel of hot metal sliding deeply into my flesh. My hand flew to my left upper arm and the two bullet holes now spilling blood down my hand, where it dripped onto the floor at my feet, forming a small puddle. The bullet had passed neatly through my arm. I looked up, squinting in the light to see who was above me, but I couldn't make anything out. I didn't know if it was Une or someone else. Not that it really mattered if they were shooting at me. I grabbed my gun with my right hand, grimacing at the burning pain that was rapidly turning my left arm useless, and shot back, aiming for the highest point I could see. I heard the bullet ricochet off of something metal and then – nothing.

I heard the sound of someone breathing quickly and harshly and realized it was me. My heart was pounding and it was only making the blood flow faster. I swore softly and shoved my gun into the waistband of my pants. I took the hem of my shirt and put it between my teeth, then yanked down sharply, tearing off a nice strip a couple of inches thick. I had to stem the blood or I'd become too weak to do anything, not to mention I'd be leaving a trail for anyone who was behind me. I wrapped the cloth around my arm and tied it as tightly as I dared. It hurt like anything but I tried to ignore that.

Slowly, moving carefully, I darted up another flight and then paused. It was impossible to know if the shooter was still above me or not and it wasn't a risk I was sure I should take. Another gunshot sounded and I crouched instinctively, only realizing a handful of seconds later that the shot hadn't been meant for me when a slim form leapt down in front of me. It was Trowa, his eyes and hair looking wild as he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. I sucked in a sharp breath as he peeled away the makeshift bandage, examining the damage done with pursed lips and a narrow gaze.

"It's alright," I said, realizing that while his god wasn't in control, he was dangerously close to being pushed over the edge. I gently took the bandage from him and put it back into place, concealing a wince as my swollen skin vehemently protested. "It's not fatal. A couple of stitches and I'll be fine." I wasn't sure that the same could be said for whoever had shot me.

Trowa looked at me and then nodded, keeping his hand wrapped around my wrist as we kept going up the stairs. Three flights up we encountered a woman who looked vaguely familiar. She had dark hair and was wearing one of the Preventers uniforms. She'd been shot in the back of the head and her body had been pushed into the corner. A gun had fallen from her hand. Trowa kept going, pulling me past her like he hadn't even noticed that she was there. I let him do it, not wanting to dwell on the fact that I'd nearly been taken down by a woman. If Wufei knew he'd never let me hear the end of it.

"We're almost there," Trowa said after we'd climbed several more flights. He turned to look at me and I realized for the first time that he'd been shot at, too. There was a bad scrape on his cheek, the result of a bullet that had gotten a bit too close. "Are you okay?"

"For this? Fuck yeah," I said. There was no way I was going to let a little lightheadedness keep me away, not when we were so close. I reached into my waistband and took out my gun again. "Let's go."

He nodded and pushed the door open, revealing a quiet and dark hall. At the end, I knew, was Une's office. Surprisingly we were the only ones up there. She didn't have any guards and in no time we were standing in front of her door. Trowa reached out and pushed it open. At first all I could see was darkness but then someone turned on a set of lights that made my eyes ache. Automatically I started to bring my hand up to shield my eyes and froze when pain shot down my arm, nearly making me double over at the amazingly sharp sting. I heard someone laugh.

"Oh, were you hurt on your way here? My apologies," Une said, sounding far too amused for my taste. She was standing in front of her desk, arms folded. "I suppose some of my agents took my instructions for them to give you a proper greeting a little too far. I could call for a doctor if you like." Her hand hovered over a button on her desk.

"Touch it and die," I said flatly and she smirked.

"Oh Maxwell, you always were just like a feisty kitten," she murmured, but she took her hand away from the button. "I must thank you for saving me the trial of having to hunt the two of you down. It's so much more convenient when you come to me."

"Where are the others?" I demanded. I had no interest in standing around chatting with her.

"Oh they're around," she said with a little smile. "I'd be willing to make a deal with you, even."

"What kind of deal?" said Trowa.

"Turn your guns on yourselves and I'll make their deaths quick," Une replied.

I stared at her and then shook my head. She was even more delirious than I'd realized. And if experience had taught me one thing it was that there was no need to wait for someone else to make the first move. I squeezed my finger around the trigger and shot her. I knew Une hadn't really believed I'd do it. Even Trowa was surprised by the move; he jumped when the gun went off. Une doubled over, a hoarse cry of pain escaping her, and I watched in satisfaction as blood began pumping around her fingers, pooling around her feet. It may have been a little cowardly, not in keeping with the game she was trying to play, but I didn't care.

I stalked over to her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to raise her head and look at me. "This is not your planet," I said softly. "You don't get to decide what happens here. You may be a goddess but there are many of us and you should never forget that while you are mortal you're subject to my realm, _Lady Une_." I purposely put a note of mocking into my voice, delighting in the way that her jaw clenched with fury. "I think it's past time that you went back to where you belong. Chaos or not, the five of us will live out our lives here until we deem that we are no longer required. Understood?"

"Foolish," Une rasped. Her face was going pale, the color draining away as more blood stained her clothing and the floor. "You'll destroy this planet."

"Then so be it," said a new voice, a familiar one. My heart twisted as I looked up into Heero's eyes.

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Please review!


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N:** Finally we're back to a Heero chapter! The next chapter will be the last one in the story I'm afraid, so enjoy while you can!

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The first thing I was aware of was the cold. Being who I was and the training I'd received, physical changes in temperature didn't tend to affect me much, not unless they were extreme. So it took me a long moment to understand that it wasn't the air around me that was cold, it was _me_. There were two points of warmth surrounding my body, one pressed up against my back and the other curled against my chest, and gradually I could feel their combined heat slowly sliding across my skin. I didn't know how long I drifted for, relishing in the slow heat, before I fully came to.

I still felt tired but at the same time my mind was starting to come online and I knew that something was wrong. I didn't try to open my eyes yet, though. I'd been in this sort of situation before. J had often delighted in leaving me completely disoriented and then testing how long it took before I could work out what was going on. I tried to think about what I remembered and it took a second before some of it came back to me: being at the school with Duo. The base that we were supposed to blow up, though I didn't think we'd ever gotten around to it, and Relena.

Yes, _Relena_. Just thinking her name made my hand clench into a fist and I had to fight back the urge to jump up and track her down so that I could demand to know what she'd been thinking. She'd interrupted Duo and I and coaxed me into going to get something to eat with her, I could recall that much, but there my memories grew distinctly fuzzy. I knew that she had been involved, though. The situation was too neatly set up. She was one of the few people who would be able to get my guard down to the point where I wouldn't notice if something had gone wrong before it was too late. I vowed that I would make it a point to never trust her again.

Now that I knew, more or less, what had happened, I opened my eyes. I was met by darkness broken by what little light could seep in around the cracks of the door. It wasn't much but I could see just enough to know that I was in what appeared to be a closet of some kind. I was lying on the floor. I moved my head just a little and saw that there was a head of golden blond hair cuddled against me. Quatre, I realized. When I glanced over my shoulder, I spotted a dark ponytail and knew that it was Wufei. It occurred to me that they were trying to share body warmth with me in an effort to warm me up.

Wufei stirred when he felt me moving. He lifted his head and our eyes met. "Heero?" he whispered, sounding hopeful and surprised all at once.

"Wufei," I said hesitantly, a little startled at the familiarity with which he spoke my name. "What's going on?"

"You were kidnapped," he replied, confirming my suspicions. "We've been searching for you for a while now. The war has ended and we thought we'd gotten a lead on finding you..." He hesitated. "But it turned out Relena was just leading us into a trap. Une is behind this, Heero. She's the one who took you and she captured Quatre and me when we went to save you. Duo and Trowa got away and I suspect she's probably trying to find them. She wants to get rid of the five of us. Quatre and I weren't sure what to do for you when we found you here... you were so still and cold..." He sounded troubled and I moved my hand without thinking, placing it over the one that he had resting on my hip. His skin was warm and by contrast my fingers felt frozen.

"It's alright," I said, aware that the reassurance was likely paltry at best considering what they'd been through. He'd given me a lot of information in the span of a few seconds and I took a moment to sort through it. Somehow hearing that Une was behind everything wasn't shocking. She'd always seemed a little unsteady. I wondered what she'd done to me. Put me into some sort of hibernation? Could they do that to humans now or had I merely survived because I was a god? My head ached from all of the questions. At least there was one that could be answered. "Wufei, where are we?"

"I'm not sure. I heard voices and a few minutes ago there was an alarm ringing but since then it's been quiet. I think… I think we might be in the Preventers building."

"Well, that would make sense," I muttered. If he was right then there was a good chance that the alarm meant Trowa and Duo were coming for us. We had to get out of here. I shifted and felt Wufei catch on. He scooted away from me, giving me the space to sit up. I felt the loss of warmth immediately and shivered. The movement woke Quatre, who looked around blearily before realizing that I was awake.

"Heero!" he cried, sitting up. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I told him. It was mostly the truth. My joints felt stiff and ached when I moved and I wasn't sure my muscles would support me if I tried to stand but other than that I didn't feel too bad. Cold, yes, but that was less important in light of what was going on.

Quatre frowned dubiously. "You don't feel fine."

"And what about Trowa and Duo? Do _they_ feel fine?" I asked pointedly and he smiled, seemingly relieved by my snappish question rather than irritated. He scrambled to his feet and then he and Wufei each took one of my hands and pulled me up as well. My legs nearly gave out and Wufei tightened his grip to keep me standing. I leaned against him until I felt confident that I wouldn't collapse entirely.

"This door is thick," said Quatre, running his fingers along the edge. "I'm not sure how we're going to get out."

"Anyone got a set of lock picks?" I asked, wishing that Duo was in here with us. He was never without a set, usually braided into his hair. God I missed running my fingers through that hair. I didn't know how long I'd been asleep for but if the war had ended it had to have been a while. The first thing I was going to do once this was over was lock myself in the bedroom with him.

"I did but they were taken," said Wufei. He moved over to the door and tried the doorknob. I wasn't sure who was more surprised when it suddenly moved under his hand and was pulled open. All three of us tensed at the sight of a shadowed figure standing in the doorway; the light behind it was blinding after being in the dark for so long and I couldn't make out any features. It was Quatre who recovered the fastest.

"Zechs?" he said, sounding shocked. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I should have thought that would be obvious." Zechs Marquise took a step into the room so that we could see him a little better. He was wearing a uniform of some kind and I couldn't help noticing that he had a gun holster strapped across his chest. He said, "Une has been acting oddly recently but it wasn't until today that I pieced things together. Relena had a very interesting story to tell me this morning and I came to the office immediately but it seems that I've missed most of the fun."

"Relena came to see you? Is she alright?" Quatre asked.

"She's fine," he replied. "Or rather, she will be after having the freedom to make her own decisions again." His face had gone dark and I knew that he was terribly unimpressed with Une or Relena or maybe both of them. I didn't know what he was talking about, though, and I shot a questioning look at Wufei.

"Une is a goddess," Wufei said, catching the look. "The goddess of peace, apparently." He raised an eyebrow as he said that and smiled at my expression of disbelief. "I know. Treize died during the war and she went a little crazy. She says she wants to rid the world of the five of us so that we don't cause so much chaos. She thought she could just do it by getting rid of you but…" He frowned suddenly. "Come to think of it I don't know why she just didn't kill you when she had the chance."

"Fear of revenge?" Quatre suggested. "Not even Une would be that stupid."

"Want to bet?" Zechs said. "I don't mean to interrupt, but your friends are in Une's office right now and if you're going to help them out I suggest you get moving. I've already heard some gunshots."

I didn't need to hear anything else. I pushed past Zechs and hurried out into the room beyond the closet. It appeared to be a bedroom of some kind. Une's, possibly. Beyond one of the doors I heard another shot and my heart jumped as I ran over and opened it. I was half expecting to see Duo lying there in a pool of blood but instead I saw something much more appealing: Une, in front of her desk, with blood pouring down her side. Duo was standing over her, his hands fisted in the collar of her shirt, and the anger in his face made my heart skip a beat. Inappropriate though it may have been, it crossed my mind at that moment that he had never looked more beautiful.

"Foolish," Une was saying, her voice hoarse and raspy. "You'll destroy this planet."

"Then so be it," I said and it was wonderful to see the startled way his head snapped around to look me. His eyes went wide and he opened his hands, letting Une slump to the ground as he took a step towards me.

"Heero?" he said uncertainly.

"It's me, Baka," I said, fighting back the urge to grab him. It had been so long since we'd last touched. I knew that the last thing that had happened between us was being interrupted on the bed by Relena. I wished now that I'd ignored her knock on the door. It had been stupid on my part to let her into the room in the first place. She'd been looking for the perfect excuse to drive us apart and I'd handed it to her.

"Zechs, you traitor!" Une spat, levering herself up on one hand. She was glaring past me and I glanced over my shoulder to see that Zechs had stepped forward. He looked angry, I noticed immediately, not that I blamed him.

"You're the one who is a traitor," Zechs said heatedly. "Relena told me what you've done, Une. How dare you stand there and act like you're the one who has been wronged? The war is over and these boys haven't done anything to you, and neither has my sister." He was glaring at her and his hand was resting on his gun. "This stops here. You can choose to let things go or you can try to fight your way through them... but I can guarantee this is a fight you're not going to win. And I won't stop them, not this time."

Une just stared at him, her eyes narrowed, and I knew she wasn't going to give in. I took the remaining handful of steps over to Duo and gently took the gun from his hands. He let me. I brushed the back of my free hand against his cheek, relishing in the feel of his smooth skin. His eyes fluttered shut and he exhaled, tilting into my touch like a cat seeking affection. It pained me to drop my hand but I knew that Une had to be dealt with. Trowa, Quatre and Wufei gathered behind us as I turned to face her and pointed the gun at her forehead.

"No more," I said quietly, staring directly into her eyes. I knew she was the goddess of peace, I remembered that now, falling back on the bed while she and Relena stood over me. It seemed fitting that the god of war would be the one to end her existence on Earth. Without hesitation I squeezed the trigger and watched as her head snapped back from the recoil. The rest of her body followed and she hit the ground on her back.

There was a tense moment of silence during which no one moved or spoke and then Duo gasped and squeezed my hand so tightly that it hurt. He could see what was happening before anyone else. Une's body was _moving_ - no, something was shifting and coming out of it. I took an instinctive step backwards, holding the gun up again when she stood up to face us, but I immediately knew that the gun wouldn't do us any good, not this time. Her body was see-through and formless, so bright that it made my eyes ache to look at her, though I ignored the pain because I didn't dare turn my back.

"Fools," the goddess of peace said. "You think you can kill me?"

"They can't, but I can."

I didn't recognize the voice but I heard Wufei make a small, pained sound. I glanced at him curiously and then looked up, instantly spotting the girl standing in the corner. She looked young, probably about our age, and she had dark eyes and hair tied into two low pigtails. She was wearing a traditional outfit in a soft shade of green and she was smiling - at Wufei, I realized. Her feet were clad in soft slippers and when she crossed the floor she was completely silent. Une reared back when she got close but there was no where for her to go.

"That's enough," the girl said sternly. "You weren't even supposed to be here."

"It was my duty!"

"You know nothing of duty!" she yelled back. "The concept completely passes you by! I've been waiting for the opportunity to have my chance at you and I'm not going to let it go. Your chance for mercy has long since passed." She turned around and looked at Wufei. "Hello, Wufei."

"Meiran," Wufei said, sounding almost dazed. He swallowed hard and then added, "Nataku."

She smiled again. "Yes. I've been watching over you. All of you." She glanced at the rest of us. "When they found out that Une was going down to Earth they were quite alarmed. I'm glad that you agreed to handle it, Heero. Thank you for following through on your mission."

"Wait, is_ she_ the whole reason we're here?" Quatre asked, pointing to Une.

"I'm afraid so. Nothing attracts peace like war." Meiran regarded Une with distaste. "This war was going to be a bad one that would change the human world as we knew it. That was _already_ cause for concern but then when they found out that the goddess of peace had plans to interfere, well, it became even worse… and that much more important that she be stopped immediately before she changed too much. Originally they had only asked that the god of war come to Earth to stop her. You're natural enemies after all. But…"

"But the five of us didn't like to be separated," Duo muttered and I glanced at him surprise. He looked sheepish. "I… had a dream once. I think it was about… well, they were saying that if one of us went then all of us would have to."

Meiran nodded. "Correct. They were okay with that. You are strongest when you're together." She sighed. "I wasn't supposed to die so young but unfortunately you can't always account for the weakness of a mortal body. Still, you've managed to do what needed to be done and now I'll take her back with me so that judgment can be dealt upon on her. She won't bother you anymore."

"And… Relena?" Zechs asked, stepping forward hesitantly.

"Your sister will be fine. She's still an emissary of peace. She'll always want to stop war and that will never change. But Une's influence should fade away with time," Meiran explained. "After a few weeks you won't know that anything ever happened to her."

Zechs looked relieved. "Thank you."

She inclined her head to him and then glanced at Wufei. "You've done so well," she said softly and I moved back, pulling Duo with me, knowing that this was not a scene that we should be intruding on. "You always had the right to pilot Nataku, Wufei. What you did for me, for the colonies, I can never express how honored I am. I know how difficult it was for you."

He swallowed and stayed still as she reached for him, her fingers ghosting over his cheek. "I'm sorry," he said roughly. "For what happened. I should have… I think, often, of how it could have gone differently."

"This is not the end of our story," Meiran replied. "I'll be waiting for you when the end comes. Enjoy your time on Earth and know that when it's done we will be together, and you won't have to leave your brothers behind, either." She gave us a shy smile. "Know, Wufei, that I don't regret anything."

"Nataku…" That seemed to be the only thing Wufei was capable of saying. Meiran understood. She bowed deeply to him and stayed like that until he bowed in return, and only then did she straighten up and kiss him on the cheek. Wufei sputtered, his eyes going wide with shock, and she giggled and skipped over to Une. She slung an arm around Une's waist and just like that, in the space of a blink, they were gone.

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Please review!


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N:** Here we are! The last chapter! A longer note will be at the bottom for those want to read it, but I was asked why Meiran was so powerful and able to defeat Une so easily when the GW boys couldn't. The answer? Meiran was in her goddess form which is _much_ stronger; even though the GW boys can access the god parts of them they are still very much restricted by being in mortal form. Meiran would have been the same had she been mortal. Now, enjoy!

* * *

Zechs, surprisingly, took over once Une and Meiran had disappeared. He stepped forward and told us to get out, said that he would take care of the bomb scare and make up something to tell everyone about Une's death. We took him up on his offer and vacated the building quickly, leaving him with the body. The city was still in a panic and we were able to get lost in the crowd pretty easily. I ended up with Heero, who still didn't look all that steady on his feet. I kept his hand in mine so that we wouldn't be separated and led him back to that café where I'd sat waiting for Trowa's signal. Most of the tables were empty, the majority of the customers having fled, but it was still open. I made Heero sit down at a table and then went inside.

It wasn't until I saw the somewhat horrified looks being directed at me that I realized I still had blood on me from Une. I made a quick detour into the bathroom and grabbed a fistful of paper towels, scrubbing uselessly at the stains. All I really succeeded in doing was smearing it across my shirt. I sighed and threw the mess into the garbage, then leaned over the sink and splashed water on my face. In some ways it was hard to believe that Une was really gone. The war was over and we didn't have to worry about anything anymore. That was... well, I couldn't remember the last time I'd been able to say that with any confidence. As long as Zechs kept up his part and didn't drag our names into this we might actually come out of this alright.

The bathroom door swung open behind me and Heero came in. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the state of my shirt and I gave him a sheepish smile in the mirror. "I tried but it didn't work out so well."

"That's alright. We're going home soon anyway," he said. I could see the moment when it struck him that he had no idea where home was. He tried to hide it but I could see that the idea upset him and the truth was I wasn't sure what to say to comfort him. We'd been staying at one of the safe houses but it wasn't really a _home_. I liked the idea of having one but at the same time I didn't want to be separated from the others, especially Heero.

"It will be okay," I said lamely, turning around to face him. "At least we don't have to worry about Une anymore."

Heero snorted. "Or Relena," he said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. My stomach tightened when he gave the lock a quick twist and looked across at me. The heat in his eyes was hard to miss but I wasn't expecting what came out of his mouth. "Duo, I want to apologize. I never should have opened the door to Relena that day. I let myself believe that she was harmless and I should have known better. I'm sorry that I made you worry all these months."

I swallowed. "She was a good actress," I said softly. He wasn't the only one who had been taken in by Relena, after all. We'd foolishly believed her story about Une and allowed her to lead us right into a trap. It was sheer luck that Trowa and I had gotten away after the explosion. I didn't even want to think about where we'd be if we hadn't. Probably dead.

"Yes, she was, but that doesn't excuse my actions," he pointed out, moving across the room towards me. He reached for my hand and I allowed him to take it. Now that we weren't in danger I could appreciate how it felt to be able to touch him again and have him respond. His thumb rubbed gently over the pulse point in my wrist and I saw a familiar glint in his eyes. I knew what it meant and if we'd been anywhere but a bathroom in some cafe I would've gladly pinned him to the wall. But I refused to have my first time in a place that probably hadn't been cleaned since it was built.

"No, but I forgive you anyway," I said, looking up into his face. I wanted him to know that my words were sincere and that I wasn't trying to tell him a half-truth. "Relena fooled _all _of us, Heero. We were foolish enough to believe her just like you were. Don't beat yourself up about it. Une is dead and Relena won't be bothering us anymore. Zechs said he would take care of everything." I hoped that he'd been telling the truth. "Let's get out of here, okay? I don't want to run the risk of being recognized." I paused, remembering why we'd stopped in the first place. "If you feel well enough, that is."

"I'm fine," he said with a shrug.

I studied him closely. His face was still a little pale and though he seemed to be steady on his feet I didn't want to take any chances. "We'll get a drink on our way out," I said. I had a little bit of cash in my pocket, enough to buy something with sugar that would keep Heero on his feet long enough to get a safe distance away. "Go wait for me out front, okay?"

He didn't seem pleased about leaving me alone but I insisted, and I watched him as he made his way outside into the sunlight. I wondered how he felt, waking up after all those months. It had to be disorienting to know that you had missed out on so much. I didn't feel like much had changed but I was aware enough to know that a lot probably had. The war was over and Heero hadn't even been a part of it, not really. It must have been so difficult, missing out on the one thing that he had been in training for, for most of his life. I wondered if he would get into trouble with J for falling for Relena's ruse.

I purchased a couple of glasses of lemonade, the cheapest thing they had, and walked out to join him. He was fiddling with a phone and I realized it was mine. He must have lifted it from me when I wasn't paying attention. I handed him one of the drinks and took a sip of mine. The sweet, tart liquid was refreshing. "Who were you texting?" I asked curiously.

"Trowa. He and Quatre have found a car and they're coming to pick us up," he said. "Wufei went off on his own. I think he needed some time to think."

I nodded and we sat down at one of the tables to wait. We didn't talk much but it wasn't really necessary. It felt good just to be there with him. I couldn't resist reaching over and putting my hand on his, and a thrill went through me when he turned his hand over and laced our fingers together. I remembered all those months when I hadn't been sure if I would ever see Heero again and at that moment I was so relieved that he was there with me that I had to take a long drink to calm myself down.

Trowa and Quatre took about fifteen minutes to get to us and by that time, in spite of Heero's protests that he was fine, I could tell he was fading fast. His eyes were heavily lidded as we got into the back of the car and within a couple of minutes he was out, his head tilted onto my shoulder, one arm slung lazily across my waist, like he was trying to make sure that I wasn't going to jump out of the car and run away. There was no chance of that happening and to prove it I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and started stroking his hair. I liked having my own hair played with and I thought he might appreciate the touch.

"What's going to happen now?" I asked once I was sure that Heero was really asleep.

Quatre turned around to look at me. He looked tired and there was a cut across his right cheek I hadn't noticed before. "We're not sure, Duo," he said quietly. "We're going to lay low for a couple of days and see how Zechs does in covering things up. If he's successful then we won't have to worry about it. If he's not..." He trailed off and shrugged one shoulder and I knew that it was bothering him that he didn't know what was going to happen. Quat liked being able to plan for the future.

"But we'll stay together," Trowa said, watching me in the mirror. He sounded serious enough that I could believe him.

If the war had ended differently the five of us might have spread out and lost touch with each other. I leaned against Heero and tried to imagine a world where he and I and Wufei were Preventers while Quatre went to work for his family and Trowa either went with Quat or back to the circus. It could have worked. I thought that we might have been happy that way. But it wouldn't work now. I wasn't even sure what our purpose on Earth was anymore. Were we supposed to be trying to help keep the peace, loathe as I was to use that word? Or were we supposed to be keeping a low profile? Meiran hadn't really said; she'd made it sound like we ought to act like normal people. But that was easier said than done.

At some point I must have drifted off because I woke up to find that the car had stopped. It was getting dark and we were parked in front of the cabin. Trowa and Quatre were gone and through the windows I could see that there was blue light flickering in the room where the television was. Heero was still beside me but now I was curled up on him, using his chest as a pillow. Every breath he took caused my head to move up and down a little bit. It was comforting and I closed my eyes again. I might have fallen back asleep but Heero's hand came down on my shoulder and tightened just enough to keep me awake.

"Duo," he said gently. "I know you're awake."

"I'm not. I'm sleeping," I said without opening my eyes.

"No you're not, Baka," he said and I knew he was smiling. "Come on. I don't know how long we've been out here for but it's been a while. My back has gone stiff from sitting in one position for so long and your stomach has been growling so loud that I'm shocked it didn't wake you up an hour ago."

Now that he mentioned it I realized I was pretty hungry. Reluctantly I sat up and muffled a yawn. I still felt exhausted, though probably not as much as Heero did. It was like his body was trying to catch up on months of lost sleep all at once. "You must be hungry too," I said, rubbing my eyes. The tip of my braid was stuck to the back of my neck. I pulled it free absently and let it fall against my chest. "Trowa probably cooked something. We can - " I was going to say we could eat and shower and then go to bed but Heero cut me off.

Literally. He pounced across the seats and pinned me down, pressing his mouth against mine before I could do much more than blink at the sudden change in position. His lips moved against mine insistently and suddenly there were hands roaming underneath my shirt. I gasped and arched up without thinking when he thumbed my nipples, pinching them gently. He was almost moving too fast for me to process; suddenly my shirt was gone and my hair was untied and Heero was unzipping my pants. I stared up at him, shocked, and he looked up with lust-blown eyes that had darkened to a deep blue, the heated look from before mesmerizing me.

"Alright?" he asked me.

"Y-yes," I stammered. "But what… why so suddenly?"

"I've been dreaming about this since I woke up," he said, sliding his hand into my jeans. I stifled a gasp with the back of my hand when he wrapped his fingers around me. A few quick strokes and I was hard and aching for him. He said, "I couldn't wait any longer. I'm tired of being interrupted and I know the next few weeks are going to be busy. We might not have much time together." He was watching me closely and there was something urgent in his face that I couldn't identify. "Will you? For me?"

"Heero…" I moaned and threw my head back. He seemed to know just how to touch me and I squirmed under his weight, not sure whether I should be trying to move closer to get more or away because it was starting to be too much. I tried to reach for his jeans, wanting him to know what it was like, but he caught my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it gently.

"Not now," he said quietly, tightening his grip just a little bit. He moved his thumb and a choked groan came out of me in spite of my best efforts to hold it back. And when he leaned down and kissed me again that was it. I came apart under his hands and found myself gasping for breath through a blur of white pleasure. Heero slipped his hand out of my jeans and pressed his face against my stomach, wrapping his arms around me and holding on so tightly that it hurt. I reached down and slipped my hand into his hair and he shivered under my touch. I thought I knew what was wrong then.

"Heero," I said again, more quietly this time. My heart was still pounding. "You don't have to apologize to me_ or_ try to make it up to me. I told you, you weren't the only person that Relena fooled. You couldn't have known that she would go that far."

He muttered something into my stomach. I couldn't hear what he said but I didn't have to, not really. I knew that it would be a while before he'd forgive himself and I couldn't help with that. Heero had always held himself to a standard of perfection that far surpassed the rest of us. I sighed and tilted my head back, looking out through the top of the window. Relena would probably never know how much her actions had actually ended up hurting him. Part of me wanted to explain it to her in vivid detail but I knew that wouldn't do any good.

After a while I started getting cold. I tugged lightly on Heero's hair until he got the hint and slipped up to meet me. He was heavy but he was taking most of his weight on his elbows so it was alright. I leaned up and kissed him, remembering the last time I'd done it when he was half-dead. Now he was warm and gentle, the passion from before still present but muted, waiting for a time when we were alone and not in the backseat of a rental car. I kissed him again and then reluctantly pulled back.

"Come on," I said to him. "Before Kitty-Quat gets curious enough to wander out here and see what we're up to."

Heero smiled and sat up. He pushed the door open and climbed out. I got out after him and re-fastened my jeans, making a disgusted face. I'd need to change my clothes and maybe shower before I did anything else; I was all sticky and my hair was probably a mess thanks to Heero's incessant need to un-braid it. I combed it down my shoulder with my fingers and started walking towards the house but Heero caught my hand and stopped me. I turned around and looked at him, raising my eyebrows.

"I love you," he said.

My jaw dropped and for about a minute I just stared at him in shocked silence. I'd imagined Heero saying that to me a few times, but I hadn't thought he would say it first. He just smiled again, clearly enjoying my surprise, and waited patiently until I recovered, his fingers warm around mine. "I love you too," I said at last, knowing it was true. This soldier, this man who had alternately fascinated and annoyed me since we met, had somehow become my partner in more ways than one.

He squeezed my hand tight and we walked back into the safe house together.

* * *

Well, it's hard to believe this story is over. I didn't watch Gundam Wing for a long time because I knew I'd get obsessed with it and sure enough, I did! But I'll tell you a secret… I've only watched about eleven episodes. Yup, I know. Most of what you see here is an amalgamation of fanfiction, research and those eleven episodes. And for the record, I'd like to say that writing a fanfiction when you haven't seen all the anime/read the manga is really hard and I do not recommend it. There are loads of little details that make it difficult. This is why I have never explicitly stated where this story would be in the GW timeline.

Thank you to everyone who stuck with me through the story; every review pushed me to keep going. I'm not sure if I'll ever do another GW story but this one was certainly an experience. For one last time, please review!


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